


Dear diary, dear Primus

by Primus_child



Category: Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe - Romance Novel, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Gen, M/M, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Platonic Romance, Psychological Drama, Sexual Tension, Sibling Love, Terror, Vampirism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-25 00:35:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 35
Words: 118,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/633228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Primus_child/pseuds/Primus_child
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a failed mission a strange book is found and read but the reader never expected to find the diary of the Decepticon SIC revealing his darkest secrets, his reasons to live and to die. Sparkling Starscream, Rated to be safe, Pre/post war G1/AUish ...CH 11 IS UP!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by angelcakes19  
> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro, the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.  
> ...

**Prologue**

He knew Megatron's ridiculous plan would fail, but as always the tyrant never heard what he had to say, instead simply beating the slag out of him whenever he tried to give his opinion.

And, as he knew it would, it did fail; but in such a painful, _stupid_ way, and everything as usual was completely Megatron's fault… and in second place for the cause of their failure was his band of jerks who were acting like headless cockroaches even before the words _'Decepticons retreat'_ was heard, bellowed out by their fearless leader.

Many soldiers were hurt, _badly_ hurt; he, giving the example of what a real leader should do tried his bests to save the afts of the Stunticons, they were so very young after all and had had not even lived long enough to feel the pleasures life could offer… well other pleasures beyond recharging and refueling.

Once again the Air Commander was the one who also saved the afts of the Constructicons as Scavenger was severely wounded from the beginning and Megatron's plans of making Devastator were scrapped as posing too great a risk to the medical team's lives; the _only_ mechs capable of putting the pieces of their afts back together.

Including his…

_Especially_ his as after this, when they had dragged their battered frames back to base, he fully expected Megatron to throw the whole thing on him, saying it was once again 'Starscream's fault.'

And no one would argue with him of course.

He could not let them die, after all he owed Hook his life for saving him all those times he had to crawl and struggle his way to the green and purple mech's med bay. Starscream had to save him and his brothers if he wanted the mech to be fully functional when they returned to the Nemesis to lick their wounds; yes, that was the right word after what Megatron, their oh so _glorious_ Lord, had made them do today.

Starscream watched how the Autobots this time didn't let them escape as easily as all those times before and thought worriedly about it, _'What is going on today, why are they not letting us go as they always do?'_

Suddenly his gaze caught Thundercracker and those accursed twins all over him, trying cruelly to take him from the air and rip his beautiful wings off with that Primus-damned Jet Judo of theirs. Starscream's anxiety was suddenly dispersed, however, as Skywarp suddenly appeared in front of the blue seeker shouting at the Lambo twins to get off of his brother, but even then the two fliers started falling from the sky as Skywarp tried to take the full weight of his trinemate.

The twins landed swiftly on the ground and ran to hide as little rounded objects tore through the air towards the falling seekers, opening to start shooting at them, mercifully attacking and shredding through them, easily penetrating their armour. Starscream watched in horror at how defenseless they were and flew to save them, shouting desperately at the devices.

He watched as his cousins fell roughly to the ground unmoving, their wings were broken and torn among other things and their bodies gushed out energon. Suddenly one of the Autobots, one he didn't recognize, took something from his subspace and threw it at them; in no time at all they were engulfed in flames.

"NO!" He screamed and tried to fly to their rescue, but another object was thrown at them before he could reach the fallen seekers and this one exploded violently. A big and powerful explosion that was enough to throw him hard into the far opposite wall of the canyon ripping off part of his armor and sending waves of pain and damage deep into his protoform then a small landslide of rocks fell on top of him, intensifying his injuries further.

' _I've lost them… no…'_ Were his last thoughts before slipping offline, his spark clenching in pain at the loss of the last of his family; that was it, he didn't want to know about anything or anyone anymore, he just hoped he would be able to see them once more before his doomed spark fell into the pit.

He would die today with his beloved cousins.

...

* * *

Later that day…

The Autobots were cleaning up the battlefield, making sure they didn't leave anything behind for the humans to find and touch or, even worse, try to thoughtlessly experiment with.

Hound was searching the area for any Transformer material, including metal, energon and other parts like cables and such; and as this was such a successful battle in which they had offlined most of the Decepticon army, he was looking for any corpses that had been missed, just in case.

Suddenly his radar picked up a corpse under some rocks and he decided to investigate who it was; to his surprise once he had pulled some of the debris out of the way, he found none other than the best prize ever; the Decepticon's Second in Command and Air Commander, Starscream.

It was like winning the lottery; they had just offlined one of the highest ranking officers in the Decepticon's army, a direct hit to the strength of their enemies. Despite himself, he couldn't stop a smirk rising to his lip components.

Taking Starscream's graying body to be dead, Hound decided to take him back to the base before sending someone else to clean up the flier's energon and spare parts.

Once Hound reached the Autobot's headquarters he took Starscream's body to a deposit where other corpses of different Decepticons were tossed before their recognition and before they were added to the list of deactivated Decepticons. There were the bodies of three other seekers, Ramjet's trine; they were completely and utterly annihilated today.

...

* * *

Optimus Prime personally came to see the counting of the corpses and could not believe what his optics were seeing, how motivated his mechs had been today after he gave the thumbs up to kill them all. After all, they were destroying the planet and the humans had given their guests an ultimatum to get rid of the problem or else...

It was the first time in so very long that he had seen so many offlined bodies after their departure from Cybertron in search of different forms and supplies of energy; in the counting he honestly didn't expect to find the treacherous SIC among the dead of their enemies.

Well, if it wasn't for his graying body…

' _Wait a minute!'_ A thought ran through Prime's head. "This one is not…" He said out loud before realizing he had done so; his mechs turning around to face their leader and see what he had to say.

"Prime?" Prowl went to stand next to his leader, looking at the four seeker corpses they had in front of them.

"Starscream?" The Prime started, "look at him Prowl." He knelt in front of the seeker. "This one is not dead… yet," he finished.

"We could let him… he will offline eventually,'' the tactician stated coldly.

"No,'' the Prime said then ordered, "Take him to the Med Bay and make sure Ratchet's stabilizes him. We could trade him later for prisoners; I'm sure Megatron will want his SIC back."

"Yes sir,' Prowl said before ordering others to take the seeker's body to their CMO, he was sure Ratchet would be happy to receive this bird.

...

* * *

Ratchet never expected to see this… Starscream offlined but somehow alive in his medbay, and by Optimus's orders no less, he had to stabilize but _not_ fix him… As cruel as that seemed, this one was their enemy and they were at war. Besides if any of them were in the same situation, alone, vulnerable and injured, their enemies would do far worse.

The CMO started with the body, fixing damaged wires in critical points, sealing wounds in places that would result in Starscream's death if left untreated and cleaning most of his body to avoid the possibility of a dangerous infection; all to make sure their prisoner would not die on them and that he would be useful for whatever Optimus had planned for him.

But there was something the medic did not understand, the great amounts of layers of armor the seeker possessed. He would have to remove it all if he wanted to reach the critically damaged places, making his work even harder than it should have been.

How he _hated_ this seeker!

He started removing the Decepticon's armor piece by piece, but the last layer of armor he honestly never expected to see what it looked like; it appeared almost… _delicate…_ perfectly crafted and suited for his body accentuating his curves and other aspects the Autobot medic had only see in…

"No… no way,'' he chuckled. After all this was a seeker and seekers were slender most of the time, far more often than most frame types. Deciding to remove the last layer, starting with the legs, he advanced up and up… but when he reached the tights and opened them there was something he definitely was not prepared to see.

Walking backwards and crashing against one of the tables sending the instruments on it falling to the ground with a clatter, he could do nothing but stare for a while at what he had just found, his whole body shaking. He just could not take his optics off of it, even when his assistants came to his aid and asked him what happened.

Removing himself from their grasp he ran to the flier and covered him with a blanket, firmly ordering everybody out, then quickly contacted Optimus to summon him down to the med bay immediately. Then he dropped into a seat to look dumbfounded at the seeker, unable to see anything else.

Starscream… the seeker, Megatron's Second in Command and Air Commander, one of the highest ranking officers in the Decepticon army…

… is a _femme…_

… and _she_ is dying.

...

* * *

_**AN:** What will Optimus and Ratchet do after such revelations?, I don't know you, but Screamer always acted a little girly so I don't see why the CMO freaked out after watching... emmm... that XD_

_In the next chapter the first pages of the Diary are revealed, stay tunned and... please review;_

_Should I continue with this? :3_


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a failed mission a strange book is found and read but the reader never expected to find the diary of the Decepticon SIC revealing his darkest secrets, his reasons to live and to die. Sparkling Starscream, Rated to be safe, Pre/post war G1/AUish

**Chapter One**

**In the Nemesis...**

A dark figure loomed around in his solitary quarters listening to the silence the base had fallen under in recent days. It had been an entire Earth week since they had suffered from several deactivations, many soldiers being permanently offlined and their cold lifeless corpses, mere scraps of metal now, were claimed by their enemies. There was no worse situation than the one the Decepticons now found themselves in; their energon rations were pitifully low and there were few soldiers left to carry the fight for their cause on. The losses included the SIC himself and the demise of all his Seekers, Megatron's entire air force gone in a single battle.

It was as if the Autobots had already won.

Trying to think about something else he took out the datapad he confiscated from Rumble and Frenzy; the pesky cassette twins had been running around with it and fighting loudly to see who would get to read it first. Apparently the little thieves had stolen it from Starscream's quarters. Now the seeker was dead, many tried to get their hands on his stuff, despite the fact that Megatron had expressly _forbid_ them to do so, there were still an arrogant few who disobeyed.

He was certainly not going to be the one to set a bad example, but the temptation grew in him until it became so great that he could not help but online the pad and read what was written in it.

His crimson optics widened at the title of the first sentence, and it was then that it became impossible to stop reading.

...

 

* * *

_Dear diary:_

_It's been so long since the last time I felt any joy, so long since the last time I smiled with it, and so few times when I opened up to someone... the only one who ever loved me, my brother..._

_...and I lost him._

_I feel I've lost everything now and wish Primus would take me away, take my spark to the pit or the well, I don't mind, I just wish to leave and forget everything I've lived for._

...

* * *

"...daddy?" Little Starscream whimpered as she watched the dark silhouette of her sire approaching her in a menacing way, like a beast ready to jump it's next prey.

"Quiet!" The mech growled as he finally reached her and took her in his arms, "You know it will hurt more if you resist," He purred darkly in her audios. "Where are they?"

"W-who?" She stammered and couldn't suppress a tremor that ran all over her body. His presence was imposing and it terrified her to no end.

"Don't play stupid with me, my Star," He purred darkly in her audios again making her tremble harder against his grasp, and when he bit her there she whimpered softly, even when she knew that encouraged him to do more of... whatever he did to her.

"T-t..." She gasped for air and tried to put her thoughts in order to form a coherent sentence, but she was so terrified that all she could do was tremble and whimper softly.

"Calm down my Star, just answer me and no one will get hurt." Her sire promised, but she knew she couldn't trust his word, he had no word, except when he threatened someone or something, only then, he was not lying.

She desperately looked for the right answer, one that didn't sound like a lie, "T-hey... left, t-they said their creators called them back." but she also knew that a liar knows another liar.

Having said that, the face and recent attitude of her sire changed from calmed to angered and using all his strength he slammed her little body against the floor hard almost knocking her out. "You little slut! Where are they? Where did you hide them?" He shouted at her showing her his white and pointy fangs with each expression he gave. "You better give them to me... or else..."

There it was... a promise he will certainly keep and bring to life, and from the threatening sound of his voice, he'll do it soon.

"I... I don't know! I swear!" She hopelessly swore, and this time the tears were leaving her optics, he loved to see her cry and showed it by lowering his right hand to her tights, caressing her roughly. That only made her shake harder and provoked him more.

"You are lying," He just said as if he was just talking to her showing no signs of what he will do soon because of her actions.

"No! Please, I'm not, please daddy, I'm telling the truth! Please, NOO-! AAAA...!" She let out a piercing pained scream once he put his left hand on her chest and pressed there. In no time her body glowed and strange marks and glyphs appeared all over her body as if she was tattooed with them. Right after, she knew what was coming next but she couldn't help but keep trying to squirm out of his grasp and away from him.

She kept screaming and squirming as he touched her harder and roughly over all her body. It hurt so badly, like it burned, but her sire felt pleasure in other's pain, particularly hers. He then bit her neck harshly, hurting her and taking energon from the wound which oozed gently from the bite he gave her, he purred deeply, before crossing to the other side of her neck and doing the same completely ignoring her pleads and cries.

Starscream hoped her sire just took blood from her this time and nothing more as so many other nights he did, drank her essence, her life; but tonight she had an illicit audience watching something their innocent -not so innocent anymore after this- processors should never watch. Of course Primus was not on her side tonight as the elder touched her right where she hoped not to be touched for the night.

Ripping off her little interface panel form her little body, the dark mech roughly and without preparation inserted one of his bigger digits in her dry and little port causing her to writhe and scream out in agony as he prezurized his spike to enter her.

...

* * *

Hidden from his optics and other sensors, little Thundercracker and Skywarp watched in horror everything from the first line. Starscream had used a spell and a circle to hide them from her creator in her closet, but had no more time to do something for them so they would be spared watching what was occurring outside of the protectiveness of the closet and the circle.

She told them to keep quiet and that everything would soon be over, that there was nothing to fear as long as they stayed in the circle she created for their protection; no matter what happened out there, they must stay in it. That's how she put it. But it was a hard task once they heard her scream in agony.

Is that the reason her creator wanted them here at night? Was that the reason Starscream begged them to leave as fast as they could fly and get as far away as they could get before sunset? But they hadn't listened, hadn't believed her when she said her tower was a horrible place once the sun hides from Vos...

...And now they are paying the price, their innocence was practically taken once they watched her sire taking her ignoring her pleas and even more her pain.

"TC!" Little Skywarp begged his elder brother as this one hid his face on the other's chest crying and shaking like mad. Thundercracker was also shaking and couldn't pry his optics from the scene before them even if he tried, even if he knew that it was wrong to watch such a macabre moment, even when he knew that it was wrong to ignore it but also using his common sense; the elder who was taking his cousin roughly on the floor was stronger than them, all of them together, if they abandoned the circle, he will probably do the same to them and all her efforts to keep them hidden will be in vain. He could not do that to Star.

"...we must do something! He's killing her!" Shaking in terror and with a wavy voice, Skywarp begged his brother to assist his cousin.

"Hush 'Warp!" Thundercracker put his little hand on his brother's mouth to quiet him, then, between sobs he softly whispered the younger, his voice wavering a little. "I want to..." He observed Skywarp was about to say something, then continued interrupting the younger, "...but she said we must stay here..." They heard her scream and they jumped out of fear and concern for her as the elder panted over and over again. "...He will do the same to us... I will not allow it, all her efforts will be in vain, he's stronger than us!"

"But... but... I can warp us away!" Skywarp whimpered not really believing his own words and flinched when his cousin let out another piercing scream. Closing his little fists tightly and shaking even more he hugged his brother's chest as he cried helplessly.

"You haven't perfected the technique... you can warp us home... or right in front of him..." Thundercracker wanted to purge his tanks as he realized the scene was burned in his processor forever and it will be impossible to wipe it out; his poor little cousin, totally and completely helpless against that... that _monster_! He felt so useless, so weak; him, the eldest of the three was unable to do anything! And even worse! His little cousin was sacrificing herself for their welfare!

Now he understood some things... the pieces were placing themselves together perfectly. The puzzle was finished. The reason Starscream never came out, never flew away from her tower, never spoke of her carrier, begged them to leave the tower... and begged them to never come alone, to always come with their own creators and never stay after the sun left in the horizon.

Now he knew and wished he had listened to her before.

...

* * *

Hours later once her sire roared and released in her for the last time before dawn dirtying her as his disgusting fluids were too much for her little body and swiped out of her she knew he was done for now... but unfortunately just for now... this is a thing to never end once it started.

After that her sire left her there, lying on the floor, sprawled, bleeding out her wounds and crying her optics out in her sorrow. He sat on her berth and watched his doing as if he were appreciating a masterpiece.

Before leaving, he knelt in front of her, touched her face lovingly and softly kissed her on her lips. "Daddy loves you, you know?" He purred "But you were a bad femling, you should have told daddy where your cousins hid". She didn't look him in the optics, her gaze focussing on nowhere. Noticing her spacing out in an attempt to escape him, something he never allowed, he slapped her on the face knowing that it would successfully wake her up and tear her back into this reality. "Hey!"

She fearfully looked at his optics knowing that for him her terror was sweet energon nectar, but she couldn't help it. "Next time you will tell daddy everything he wants to know, right?" He watched her weakly nod. "Good femling." And he kissed her again softly on the lips before lifting himself from the ground and leaving the room. "I hope you don't think about lying to daddy again, Star." He said without turning before closing the door.

Tense minutes passed since she was left 'alone' in her room lying in a pool of her own energon blood and other fluids; she couldn't help but space in and out from time to time, only her pain present all over her body prevented her from falling into recharge... that and her cousins hidden in her closet.

She wanted to purge but hadn't refueled yet, so her tanks were empty... and she was also weak after her sire drank almost all her energon blood, the thing that didn't help either was her pain. Suddenly she felt her cousins trying to leave the protective circle so she moved her head to the side they found themselves in and said looking at nowhere in particular, "Stay... there... don't leave it... yet." Those words were whispered so softly that her cousins believed she hadn't spoken at all, but it had the desired effect, they became paralyzed in there deciding it would be for the best to wait for her approval to leave it.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when her unfocused and dim optics offlined and she finally was claimed by recharge and it was then that Skywarp jumped out of the circle in the closet to her aid followed closely by Thundercracker.

"S-s-sttar?" Little Skywarp stammered not knowing how or where to touch her in fear she might break. His hands were shaking as much as his voice and his optics didn't cease in leaking tears. "TC...!" He worriedly stared at his brother looking for an answer to know what to do or to search for his approval to finally take account of his previous warping plans.

"I-I... know," Thundercracker also stammered and used the brotherly bond they shared to tell his brother what to do and how to help her, even when he didn't know exactly what to do either, he was so confused, scared, no, terrified was the correct word to describe his true feelings and he didn't know how to move her, her leg joints were all broken from the force her sire used to spread them against her will.

Finally after a few eternal minutes they decided to lift her together and move her to her berth -which was softer than the ground- so she could rest better and covered her with a thermal blanket after they had cleaned her up as well as they could.

"TC..." Skywarp said after a moment yawning, "...I feel so tired." then rubbed his optics as if trying to wipe the tiredness off of them.

"Me too, 'Warp," Thundercracker answered after cleaning off a certain stain on her neck. They couldn't recharge last night when their cousin was screaming in agony. "But we can't sleep now; we must look after her and find a way to take her out of here. We must protect her as she protected us." He continued tiredly automatically cleaning her face now, his optics felt so tired, he felt so tired, there was no other word for his current status. But he was also scared and could not give himself the luxury of recharge in this Unicron cursed place.

...

* * *

She woke up abruptly feeling something wrong in the air, in the ambient she found herself in now... with her cousins! She could also hear her sire chanting something and under it the soft and quieted sobs of her beloved cousins.

Starscream was too weak to move a finger even less a limb, unable to speak and demand her sire to leave them alone; but she had to do something, anything! Her optics refused to online and the rest of her body refused any order she weakly gave it; she just couldn't allow her cousins to suffer the same fate she suffered for being so weak!

' _I have to do something! Anything...! Anything..._ ' She repeated the last word as a mantra at the moment her cousin's whimpers were heard, she was willing to do anything now, no matter the consequences, she will make sure that at least they will be OK, and anything means _anything_.  
 _  
'Invoke the spirit!' S_ he heard in her head and that startled her.

 _'No!... not the spirit,' S_ he cried for her insides and in silence.

 _'Didn't you say you will do anything?'_ The voice in her head asked seductively.

 _'But...'_ She started; she remembered Sunstorm mentioning the most powerful spirit you could ever invoke, it had no name but 'The Ancient'; her twin tried to summon it to save them both but was discovered by their sire and that was when her beloved brother was murdered in front of her and his lifeless body tossed right at her heels as some kind of teaching for trying to use anything against him.

She was so afraid after that she didn't try anything again, not even escape; but now the voice in her head spoke as if she had no other choice if she wanted to save her cousins... but invoking the Spirit was dangerous and considered heresy.

She had to make a choice, now.

...

* * *

_**TBC?** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by: angelcakes19  
> AN: In the last chapter, the prologue, we saw how the Autobots find out the real identity of the Screamer... but, does the Decepticons knows that too? Obviously the reader of the diary now knows taking in his advance her absence... but what else does Starscream hides? Someone once said 'Curiosity killed the Kitty' but thanks Primus the reader is not a kitten and will find out for me and you what our favorite seeker secrets are *evil smirk*
> 
> BTW... if you've read this on ff.net you will realize this one here had parts that in the other site were forbidden, more details and such.


	3. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a failed mission a strange book is found and read but the reader never expected to find the diary of the Decepticon SIC revealing his darkest secrets, his reasons to live and to die. Sparkling Starscream, Rated to be safe, Pre/post war G1/AUish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers and all its characters belongs to Takara/Hasbro, I own nothing but the plot of the story I'm currently writing here.  
> Warnings: references of murder and other things; as I said before this is what it came out of my head and I'm not happy for writing this kind of misery.

**Chapter Two**

_Dear diary:_

_Why? Why me? Why do I have to suffer like this, it hurts so much! He's taking my life away like he did with my beloved twin, Sunstorm, but he was stronger than me, he resisted, he fought and tried to escape..._

_I'm not that strong, I'm weak..._

_...and now I'm dying..._

_...but at least I will not let him take my beloved and innocent cousins; I know what he wants, I warned them... but they didn't listen... what do I do now my dear Primus? How can I protect them before I die?_

_Please answer me, he's coming..._

_I have to hide them... he's coming after them like he did in the past for me before my twin died._

_I'm afraid, help me..._

...

* * *

She could hear as her beloved cousins wept and cried in silence as she was unable to move a limb; she couldn't even watch as her weakness forbade her from onlining her optics.

"Please, let us go, we won't tell anyone anything, please." Skywarp's voice... the little one was so terrified that he would swear to anything, but she knew that her sire would not let them go, he had important plans for them.

"Please, at least let Skywarp go," this time it was Thundercracker who piteously begged the elder, holding onto the very last flame of hope he possessed, that the sire of Starscream still had a spark and would suddenly feel merciful towards them, at least enough to let his younger brother leave and save him from whatever he was plotting to do with them... and posibly it would be the same that happened to their little cousin.

The elder didn't acknowledge them as he kept chanting something spark-chillingly creepy and drawing strange symbols on the ground; she could tell because besides the forbidding sound of her sire's voice, she could hear another noise like a quiet scratching, as if something was softly touching the floor in different rhythms.

She was never able to understand what he was chanting; it was in a foreign language she had never otherwise heard in her young life; not even the servants spoke it... but her instincts told her it was something evil, something that should never be mentioned out loud let alone voiced in its dreadful entirety.

Another sound, and this time it was something metallic being lifted from the ground... and she knew what was coming next as he had done it to her in the past...

" **Skywarp**!" Thundercracker yelled in desperation; it seemed the cruel mech had chosen his first victim for the night. " **No**! Leave him alone!" The blue seeker demanded in the most authoritative tone he could muster with his strained voice, appealing to the monster approaching his brother.

The elder just chanted louder and louder as the blue sparkling tried frantically to get his attention away from his little brother.

Starscream knew the position they found themselves in; maybe they were not tied as she could not hear the clanging and shuffling that meant they were struggling against any chains or ropes... so that would mean it was a spell, a spell to keep them still but not quiet as her sire loved to hear his victims cry and scream, relishing their fear.

"TC!~" Skywarp whined as he felt the elder come over him with the wicked knife the fiend held in his hand, the small seeker was shaking and crying like the sparkling he was and Starscream could hear her sire chuckle in between his chanting.

Suddenly another sound was heard, like the screech of metal tearing through metal, and Skywarp cried out as his armor was scratched finely with the sharp tip of the knife; the elder drew intricate symbols all over the little flier's body as he kept chanting and put an accent into his sounds each time he finished with an unholy glyph.

"What are you doing!" Thundercracker demanded again, but his command fell on deaf audios as his uncle continued with whatever he was doing to the blue mech's little brother. " **Stop! Please**... **!** Please..." He cried pleadingly "...take me in his place."

That was it, she knew her sire would take Thundercracker eventually as well once he finished with Skywarp, he would not let his victims escape, he _never_ let them escape, as he had never done with her and Sunstorm.

His own sparklings…

She was still unsure of what he used to ensure that but whatever it was it worked, and worked _well_. But now that was not the most pressing problem.

She had made her decision, she would do it, she _would_ , no matter how much the very idea, the very mention, of it terrified her.

...

* * *

_I invoke you!_

_Come to me!'_

_..._

* * *

" **Skywarp!** " His brother cried one last time before the doors of the balcony and the room flew open without warning and a powerful wind gusted in sending everything flying all over the room, even the furniture was lifted off the floor and candles were all blown out in moments. It also knocked Starscream's sire away from Skywarp and threw him callously into the wall, the sharp knife falling to floor, sharp point burying itself in the ground just inches from Skywarp's head; the little sparkling stared at it, optics wide in terror.

"What...?" The old seeker asked bewildered at what had just happened, the suddenness of it. That was most definitely _not_ normal, but then he lifted his gaze to find his daughter standing in front of him; optics blazing with rage, fists balled tightly and frame shaking in barely controlled hate.

The energy that surrounded her was almost visible, a raging wave that moved menacingly around her and accentuated her feelings towards the elder of them in the room.

"Well, well…" The old seeker laughed in a dark way with that deep voice of his that she hated so much, "...look who decided to join our party." He moved and used the wall opposite him to claw his way up and walk back over to his victims; but once he put one pede in front of the other the earth shook violently and he fell backwards, once more landing on his aft.

"Calm down, my dear; if you want to, you can take the blue one but let me have the purple one; I enjoy it so much more when they are younger... more energy, and more... pureness." He purred vilely as his tongue licked his lips in a disgusting fashion to moisten them. He tried to stand, only to fall again in the same fashion as before.

"Oh... someone is greedy... but don't worry, there are plenty of other sparklings out there, or adults of course, whatever my little femme wants..." He chuckled darkly as her face contorted in disgust in such a way as to show him how revolting he was to her and how sordid what he was suggesting truly was. "... After all, you will need to refuel soon; the _Spirit_ is always hungry, it is not cheap to call for his aid."

" **Shut up!** " She barked enraged, before the silver and sharp knife still dug into the ground behind her started moving... trembling as intensely as she was.

"Did you really think he would do something for free? Please don't tell me I raised an idiot for sparkling!" He laughed loudly once again.

"I said **shut up!** " She snapped again in fury and the storm outside, as if answering her, threw a powerful lightning bolt that make a powerful sound as if it shattered the earth beneath them.

"Yes, yes..." He chuckled "...I did it once upon a time, called for his aid? Ha! And thanks to my intelligence I didn't kill my great grand creator before he told me what I had to do in order to survive with it, you will have to-" The monster never managed to finish his sentence.

The knife tore effortlessly through his armor, deeply embedding itself into his spark chamber and straight into his spark piercing it ruthlessly with its deadly and sharp blade. It worked to make him finally shut up, but the knife still moved, it twisted harshly and a pained groan was wrenched from the sparkless elder's vocalizer.

"It seems like you speak a foreign language because you never seemed to understand what I said, so I will repeat it for you once more, shut up, father." The knife was slowly extinguishing his life and nothing but pained sounds left his mouth before he decided to speak again even if the knife didn't stop its relentless twisting.

"Y-you... fff-fool...ACK!" He tried, "you will... pay... _dearly_..." Energon was dripping steadily from his mouth as he spoke in barely audible whispers, all of them directed at her and no one else. "...S-someday... you will... follow my steps." He spat some of his energon blood on her face to make his point, his foreboding promise clear.

" **Shut up!** " She ripped the knife from his spark and stabbed him, driving it in as deeply as she could, into one of his main energon lines in his neck cables, then, unhappy with that she tore her knife from there as well and once more stabbed him; this time in the face breaking his optics, his mouth, everything she could reach as she did it over and over again screaming at him to shut up with each stab.

Once she was finished and spent, her father was dead.

She was covered in his energon and shaking like mad, crying her optics out in fear, sadness, revenge, or pain, honestly she could not say, maybe it was all of them mixed together… but as she lay there, straddling her dead father with a blank and unfocused gaze, the storm outside decided to stop; the wind and lightning ceasing completely.

Near her, no more bound by the spell their uncle had cast so cruelly on them, Thundercracker and Skywarp stared in horror at the scene and at their once innocent and gentle cousin as she turned irrevocably into a murderer. The blue seeker felt extremely guilty for it; she had done it again, she had had to protect them again and this time she had sacrificed even more than before, the last ounce of innocence she once possessed was lost now.

Given up for them.

Neither he nor Skywarp dared to move in fear of what she might do next, but even then he felt deep in his spark that they were safe... at least… for now...

...but for how long?

...


	4. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers and all its characters belongs to Takara/Hasbro, I own nothing but the plot of the story I'm currently writing here.  
> Warnings: none in this chapter.

**Chapter Three**

_Dear diary:_

_I did it... I don't know how, but I killed my sire._

_He was going to do the same as he had done to Sunstorm and me to them and I was willing to do anything, risk_ everything, _to prevent that from happening... even use witchcraft._

_I hate it, I hate how I feel! So filthy, his energon on my hands, on my face, my cousins crying... I've never seen Thundercracker cry before now and I hate myself for that._

...

* * *

She stayed totally and completely motionless in her position; her tiny hands still holding the base of the knife as her tears washed away the energon splashed on her face, the proof of her crime; in that moment she felt hypnotized as flashbacks of her short and young life passed through her optics at a nauseatingly fast rate but slow enough for her to see and remember clearly.

Her beautiful mother holding her and her twin in a hug saying they were the biggest treasure Primus could ever have given her. They were so small and fragile.

A soundless night with her brother in their room and both were suddenly startled by the sound of a screaming femme crying out for help; her last sound a piercing cry that tore through all the rooms in the tower then, silence.

Her father's visits in the night and his sudden decision to separate both siblings into different rooms.

Her and her brother's agony at their sire's hands as he marked them to be his to do with as he pleased and the moment the monster bit her brother hard on his neck drinking his energon while ignoring his frightened pleas just as he did with her in the future.

Her cries and pleas, begging him to let go of her younger twin as the little golden one screamed in pain and shined as the elder placed his hand on his chest disregarding her presence completely even as she offered herself in her little brother's place.

Sunstorm finding a book days later and reading it to her "Spells for protection of the beloved ones," He said softly.

…Sunstorm's death after he tried something against the monster of his creator when they were unable to escape.

Her, looking out the windows as other sparklings flew with their creators for the first time or who knows how many times and wishing that was her out there and that she was not crying her optics out for her beloved younger brother.

…Her cousin's visits and her father's hungry gaze leveled on them; later, he, giving them toys successfully buying their desire to stay in the tower for the night even after her frantic warnings.

Later, her, using a spell she read from that little spell book and begging them to stay quiet before hearing her father's steps coming for them.

As the flashbacks came and went she felt a hand on her left wing, she turned with the same dead expression on her face to stare at her elder cousin, Thundercracker.

"Star?" He started with a broken voice before hugging her tightly and crying out, soon followed by Skywarp who did the same, both dirtying themselves with the energon blood of their uncle that covered her tiny frame but even then refusing to let her go. She just remained still and motionless letting them cry out for her as the amount of emotions that flooded through her processor and spark were too many and too much for her to react to one only.

In what seemed like an eternity she started moving trying to-

_(reading interupted)_

...

* * *

"My lord Megatron?" That was Soundwave. It seemed his TIC and Communications Officer had been knocking on the door of his personal quarters for several minutes asking for entrance, but as his Lord never answered he just used his override codes and opened the door to find Megatron reading a datapad which held the tyrant's complete attention.

Actually he was so distracted with the reading of the mysterious datapad that the cassette player had to touch his shoulder and shake him a bit for him to respond.

Finally after re-calibrating his optics, Megatron gave his TIC his full attention, but not in a happy way as he was frustrated from being interrupted in his avid reading. After all it was an interesting story, _Starscream's_ story by the way and he didn't know if his former second's life was like this or if it was a lie and... in the story... Starscream is a _femme_ , a femme sparkling but a femme nonetheless.

"My Lord," Soundwave tried again, "List of deactivated Decepticons in the Nemesis: updated; List of lost in battle Decepticons: updated." He delivered a datapad into Megatron's hand, looking as tired and drained as his Commander as, after all, the starvation reached and affected him too.

As the days progressed, more and more Decepticons died because of starvation right in their base, making it impossible for them to raid anything. Not even a small plant was feasible as the Autobots seemed to wait for them with unsheathed weapons in each and every one.

He tried to say 'Good job, Soundwave, dismissed.' But only a growl left his vocalizer; it was more than enough to get the TIC to leave and the door soon hissed shut behind him.

...

* * *

**Nemesis' Med-bay...**

"How are they?" Scrapper asked Mixmaster as he observed the monitors that showed the spark beat of the two sleeping seekers on their respective tables in the Constructicon's med-bay.

"I think they are out of danger but I'm not completely sure," he started. "Hook went to retrieve more energon from her room-" He was suddenly interrupted as Hook hurriedly entered the med-bay, locking the door quickly behind him and then he unsubspaced five energon cubes to put them carefully on his desk.

"How are they doing so far?" The CMO asked.

"I think they are out of danger, but I will not risk in onlining them so early. How much is there left of it in there?" Scrapper stated then asked about their 'secret reserve' of energon.

"Enough," Hook stated. "But not much."

The medical team knew Starscream was a femme as she trusted them with her life, especially Hook who loved her like a daughter and hated to see her being punished by their leader without reason. As such she had told them several times that she had a reserve of energon 'just in case' hidden in her room as, since she was a femme, she consumed less than an average mech. Where a normal mech needed three to five cubes to function properly a day she just needed one even after a raid, so she saved her ration that she hadn't consumed but if she was a mech would have used.

He let out a pained gasp as he remembered her; she was a _good_ femme even though she had such a traumatizing past. She hadn't deserved it and certainly didn't deserve to die in the manner she had done.

She had deserved better, so much _better._

Well, at least they could still save her cousins whom she had loved with all of her strength and spark, it was the least the CMO could do after she hadn't returned from that terrible battle.

They supposed 'Lt. Starscream' was dead as she had never returned but to his surprise Astrotrain did bring her trine back; it was a surprise as Skywarp teleported himself with his brother inside the triple-changer before the bomb had exploded and killed them; unluckily the large blast had caught Starscream and she died somewhere out there and the slagging Autobots claimed her corpse not long later.

The medic shook his head in sad denial remembering the day he had the honor of meeting her for the first time as a young adult.

-ooo-

* * *

_**Flashback (Hook)** _

After Starscream joined the Decepticons she had to get fixed up and approved by the medical team. Her cousins were with her as she watched the medics warily; she didn't trust anyone to touch her, and was supported by her little knowledge of first aid that allowed her to be able to fix herself if the damage was not too severe.

The one named Mixmaster could not take his optics off of her and from time to time he turned from his job to stare at her; then finally deciding to give his opinion he directed himself to his brother Hook. "Will you tell her or shall I?"

In that moment Skywarp and Thundercracker charged their weapons at them ready to shoot but Starscream stopped them. "No," She said sternly.

"But, Star?" Skywarp protested. "They can-" He tried but was fast interrupted.

"How do you know?" She demanded of the medics.

"You think we don't recognize a femme when we see her? We might be engineers posing as medics but we know, even if she is a seeker." Mixmaster stated quietly.

"And what are you going to do?" Starscream asked, at that moment rising from the medical bed she had been tentatively settled on.

"Nothing," Hook said with a tone that left them in no doubt of his truthfulness. "Princess Starscream." He finished gaining several strange looks aimed in his direction, even from his gestalt brothers.

"How do you-?" She choked on her own words.

"I would recognize the daughter of Slipstream and Nightscream anywhere," The medic started. "After all it was I who was the one who built that tower you once called home; I remember you and your brother, Sunstorm, being little things in your mother's hands." He smiled as he remembered then froze, noticing how her face paled. "Where are they?" He finished curiously as he walked towards her as she seemed to be about to faint at any moment.

"Dead." She whispered and once he touched her she lost her balance and fell, Hook held her by an arm to guide her gently back to the bed.

By her answer and reactions he noticed something was very wrong, she was shaking violently and her whole body was cold to the touch, her face a deathly pale and her optics focused on nothing.

"May I ask?" He tried, knowing that it might bring painful memories up for her.

"No, you may not!" Skywarp answered for her in an angry tone but even then she decided to answer.

"My sire killed them… I killed my sire-" She started with a whisper but Thundercracker swiftly interrupted her.

"Enough! Star, you don't need to say anything else."

"He's right," Hook decided looking at his brothers hoping for the same answer, they all seemed to understand and left the conversation there. "Now, lie down; it seems like your energon has decided to leave your head." He carefully pushed her back so she could lay comfortably flat on her back on the bed.

"But one more thing, from what I know you are the last heir to the throne of Vos, why not take it and become the next Winglord… or Winglady?" He asked without noticing that her cousins seemed ready to rip out his spark from his chest, their frames tensed up in barely contained aggression. She just looked at him with a sad expression. "Good thing you didn't or you would have ended up dead, which would have been a great loss to our species." He then turned around and took an energon treat and put it in front of her mouth, offering it to her. "Eat this, it will help you to recover your health and by the way… I think you will need another layer of armor, seeker or not, you still look like a femme the way you are."

"I already have three." She whispered as the medic cleverly took the opportunity to thrust the candy into her mouth.

"Well… you will need another if you want to be considered a mech here." He finished.

Skywarp and Thundercracker looked at each other in surprise.

_**End flashback** _

…

* * *

**Megatron's personal quarters...**

After reading the report documenting their losses, Megatron decided to forget everything for now as it was impossible to do anything considering their current situation. To achieve that he took up Starscream's diary again and resumed his fascinated reading.

…

* * *

_(Resuming the reading)_

… _my body reacted automatically…_ the diary chanted...

In what seemed like an eternity she started moving trying to unclench her fist so she could release the knife, and tightly hugged her cousins back, but even then she felt it was impossible to let go of it, so she hugged them regardless, blade still in hand.

They stayed like that for hours holding each other before recharge claimed them minutes before dawn broke.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Well, I hope you have enjoyed that without confusing you more XD  
> The next chapter btw will be the first Interlude which means we will see what the Autobots are planning to do with our favorite seeker; settled in present time and no Diary readings... but I promise you there will be more :) after all it will be stright after Ratchet find out what *he* was hiding XD  
> Btw, I always thought with all the resources they possessed, I mean the Autobots, why did they never just offlined their enemies? Well, now they did...  
> ...well, the promised is debt, the identity of the reader of the diary is here... please rise their hands to see who guessed right? ok...?
> 
> Betaed by my super awesome BFF Angelcakes19


	5. Interlude 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers and all its characters belongs to Takara/Hasbro, I own nothing but the plot of the story I'm currently writing here.
> 
> Warnings: none.

**Interlude 1**

Starscream… the seeker, Megatron's Second in Command and Air Commander, one of the highest ranking officers in the Decepticon army…

…is a _femme…_

…and _she_ is dying.

Ratchet could not help but stare at the covered figure on his medical table; with shaking hands he finally decided to uncover her and remove the rest of her armor, but only after he had sent the other mechs out and the CMO was sure they had left.

Deciding to not take any unnecessary risks, he used a long curtain sometimes used when risky operations were performed to hide what was he was unveiling in the newly concealed area; then the red and white medic uncovered the injured seeker and started unlatching her armor piece by piece. He was shaking even when he tried his very best to stop when he reached her chest-plates.

He paused and, after a moment's hesitation, decided to start with her arms instead, but eventually -still far too soon in his opinion- he reached the same intimate place again once the other pieces were removed. Taking a deep breath he found the places to unlatch the last piece and when he did his fears were confirmed beyond any doubt; yes, this was definitely a femme. Her spark beat weakly against the last of the pale protective glass on her chest, it was barely a tiny little sparkling but at least it was something for Ratchet to work with.

"What you medic is watching?" Swoop came out of nowhere and started looking intensely at Ratchet who was sweating and shaking most confusingly to the young Autobot, but somehow _not_ at the uncovered femme on the CMO's table; in no time at all the temperamental senior medic was chasing the pterodactyl with a wrench in one hand and throwing more wrenches with the other. The Dinobot medic, forgetting that he was bigger than the other mech or that he could simply fly out of the room, started to run for his life all over the Med-bay with his mentor at his heels.

"Me Swoop sorry!" The Dinobot tried as he received another painful hit on his head, "Me sorry, me knock next time!" He cried as he finally reached the exit door and flew away from the enraged CMO to the relative safety of his brothers.

"You better." Ratchet whispered menacingly as he panted in the entrance of his Med-bay with his wrenches held tightly in hand; all other mechs who saw him so forcefully kick the Dinobot out of his domain walked faster without even glancing towards the door much less the medic himself.

Turning back to his dominion, Ratchet decided to return his full attention to the seeker-femme that lay prone on his table; but this time he decided to lock up the doors and left a message for First Aid that if someone was not in danger of offlining by Primus they should not dare to disturb him.

The gentle Protectorbot obeyed the message through and through as he certainly did not want his mentor's bad side to come to the fore against him like Swoop had just suffered.

Once Ratchet was in front of the dying seeker he decided to go to work again trying his best to ignore for the moment just how he never noticed her predicament before; a femme, they almost offlined a _femme_!

Primus forgive them all…

Hours later and using to his advantage that his Prime didn't arrive on time and that the seeker was finally stable, he decided to take a deeper more detailed look at her body.

He found many scars all over her bare protoform, though it was said and widely known that Starscream was usually tortured by Megatron these marks were not normal. It was beyond abuse, it was like her former tormentor took his time in making them to make sure that she suffered. When Ratchet paid more attention he realized that the scars followed an intricate pattern, like glyphs or some kind of writing, but no less painful for their true nature.

There were other kind of scars, those that suggested shot and stab wounds but those were few, a maximum of three shots and one stab. But the one thing that caught the CMO's attention was her neck; it was where the most damage was found on all of her body, as if the protective skin was often torn off or something of the like in the past. The simple thought of it made the medic's tanks start revolting.

Once he finished counting her many scars but, thankfully he supposed, fewer battle wounds he started checking for the time frame in which they would have been created; he found out that the ones that covered her whole body- the glyph-like markings- were far older than the other damage to Starscream's frame and were really deep where they were inflicted, closely followed by the ones in her neck and finally in terms of severity were her battle scars.

But what scared him the most was that the oldest of them all were made when she was very young; "...practically a sparkling." He let out in a saddened whisper.

Those thoughts led him to others of a dark nature as he started checking her internals, beginning with her neck, and found that the sensitive nerves in that area were practically useless.

In short, she could not feel there be the touch pleasurable or painful.

Other things like her veins were all misplaced there and it looked like that at one time or another someone had ripped them apart. He would have thought that Megatron caused the damage since he was usually grabbing her by the neck but that hypothesis was dismissed as he saw how aged it actually was.

The CMO pulled his medic/scientist part to the forefront in order to assault the rest of his processor as one horrifying thought crossed his mind. Walking to the end of the table he parted her legs –finding more of those terrible glyped like scars- and delicately checked her uncovered interface port.

From what he could tell at a cursory glance she either didn't use her port or hadn't interfaced in a very long time if she had even ever done so it in the first place. Finally deciding to examine her further he lubricated his sensitive fingers and inserted one of them into her port carefully since she seemed to be quite dry and tight then lubricated them again and inserted two to examine her further.

What he found he honestly hadn't expected- or liked- at all. She was not a virgin anymore because the seal she would have possessed was nowhere to be found. None of her inner sensors reacted as they should, in place of giving pleasure or any other kind of relief they gave pain and that crucially influenced her lubricant production at the moment of an interface, _if_ she interfaced at all. Looking further he found deep and cruel inner scars that surely when they had been new would have had to have hurt her very much and many of them directly affected her main sensors.

He reached a conclusion once he retrieved his fingers from her and wrote it in his pad to inform the Prime about it once he finally arrived.

Luckily for the CMO the Prime buzzed at the outer door's intercom requesting entrance into the med-bay soon after.

...

* * *

"Ratchet, what was so important that you summoned me down here? I already gave you orders to stabilize him; he didn't die, did he?" The Prime started the moment he set his peds into the CMO's territory.

"We have a bigger situation here, Prime. Please, follow me," The medic guided the Prime to the back of the med-bay and behind some curtains giving them some measure of privacy. "This is not what I, and I believe, nor you expected." He finished before making a run for the white curtains to reveal Starscream's still form; the monitors hummed lightly, showing her spark beating, slowly and weakly as it soon would extinguish.

At least without proper care.

The seeker's body was covered with a white sheet that was becoming dirtied with the energon blood of the body it was covering, protecting in a small manner, but that was not what caught the attention of the Prime.

"As you can see I removed her armour to examine her further," Ratchet walked towards her unconscious form removing the sheets to successfully reveal the reason the Prime was there.

"Is..?" Optimus Prime could not believe his optics nor could he remove them from her motionless frame.

"Yes, Optimus, a femme, and I need to receive new orders from you; should I just leave her like this for you to use her for whatever you needed from her first, or should I fix her completely and wake her up for her to have a proper conversation with you?" Ratchet finished outlining his options and waited patiently for his leader to respond.

"Yes, fix her and make sure she doesn't wake up until I have time to come and talk to her without interruption." Optimus stated still amazed at what they had just received... a femme.

A _seeker_ -femme.

"One more thing, Optimus; I want to talk to you," The CMO started before covering her naked body once again and guiding his leader and friend to the next chair in their way. "This is important."

"What is it?"

"Starscream, is she the last of her kin?" Ratchet questioned with his optics focused on the deep blue ones of Optimus'.

"I... yes." Optimus finished lowering his gaze and head; he did remember that all her seekers had been annihilated in the last battle between the warring factions, that included her trine according to the reports even if their bodies had not yet been found; maybe the Decepticons claimed them before the Autobots had any chance to take them…

"I see..." Ratchet lowered his head and placed his hands on his knees. "What will you do, or what will you tell her once she awakens?"

"I don't know, my friend, but Primus will guide me." Optimus shook his head; he knew that having a conversation with Starscream, the last seeker, the last of her kin, and the last _femme_ of her kind- far over all other things a femme- would not be easy; she would be distraught and angered and with good reason.

They had just killed the remains of her kin… practically _her_ _family._

That thought make his spark clench in guilt.

"But she's a femme," Optimus suddenly continued in an attempt to divert his train of thought, "and we need her."

"I don't think she will be willing to cooperate with our cause, Optimus, there was a reason she was a Decepticon." Ratchet mused.

"She will." The Prime declared with a rare touch of arrogance before he lifted himself from the chair and strode towards the exit. "You know what to do." He said before leaving the Med-bay.

"Yes." Ratchet said still sitting unmoving on his chair before letting out a small anxious gasp and shaking his head; he just hoped that everything would be alright now that the war was almost over and despaired that he was not in the mood to deal with a seeker, that he was too _tired_ for it, even less if it was the last of them all.

...

* * *

Ten days later, life was still not easy for the CMO as he tried his best to fix Starscream but somehow she always managed to fall into stasis and from there her spark would almost extinguish. Three times, in fact, this had occurred in the last day alone; that made a count of thirty four times they had almost lost her, thirty four times she almost died on them and thirty four times that Ratchet almost gave up with her.

"Did you receive my report on her?" The old Medic was not in the mood for any other talking that didn't concern the business of his patient as he didn't even turn to acknowledge his leader and got straight to the point.

"Yes, I did." The Prime said.

"Then you see it will be hard to achieve her cooperation in _that_." The medic growled, praying to his deity that his leader would see some sense, as he stabilized her once _again_ and covered her body back up to shield it from prying optics and to give it some much needed warmth.

"I know she will, Ratchet, I have plans for her," Optimus stared at her grimly. "Just make sure she survives and functions properly for it."

"Is that not what I've been trying to do in the last few days, this entire _week?!_ " The CMO barked at his leader clearly losing his patience with his current patient and, to a lesser extent, his old friend.

"I know, my friend, but this is also a test for your mighty patience." Optimus finished and consequently received a murderous glare from the Medic.

"If I was not so tired, Optimus, I would throw something at that big, puffed up head of yours." Ratchet sighed softly. In that moment Starscream's spark-beat diminished again. " _Ah!_ Not _again_!"

He ran to her side and started to work once more with the same machines he had only just that klik put back at their stations, having to use them yet again as the alarms of the machines attached to her form and internals clearly showing her life beat to any observer turned on.

They were annoying enough to the CMO when he heard them for the first time with any given patient but this was not the first, nor even merely the second time that day he had heard their audio-piercing wail.

"She's been like this all day! Trying to die on me! I will not let her, by Primus I will not, do you hear me you little fragger!?" The CMO barked at her unconscious form completely ignoring the Prime's presence whose stare didn't change in the least but perhaps that only appeared to be so because of that facemask of his.

...

* * *

Later that day...

Three dark figures entered the Med-bay in silence without turning on the lights; their steps light so no one would know they were there.

"Here!" One of them whispered to the other two and then grabbed the long and white curtains to pull them apart and force them to reveal their secret.

Inside they could appreciate the comatose form of...

"What him Starscream doing here?" Grimlock asked in a hushed tone to his flyer brother.

"Me don't know, me asked, but no one told Swoop; no one allowed here, not even him First Aid. Just him Perceptor and Ratchet." He finished turning back to the sleeping one.

"Him Starscream looks different." Said Grimlock as he –in his dinosaur form- sniffed at her face. "Him smells good." That said the other two Dinobots closed in to curiously sniff at the seeker as well.

"Makes me, Snarl, hungry." Snarl -also in his dinosaur form like his brothers- licked at her face, setting his paws on the medical bed she rested upon.

"Me Swoop hungry too." The Dinobot medic said into Starscream's metal licking her face on the other side; all three Dinobots were in their dinosaur form inspecting the comatose and mysterious patient before Grimlock finally took off the sheets with his jaws slowly, not wanting to disturb the flier and for them to be caught.

"Him always smells good," The Dinobot leader said slowly before...

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

"What are you perverted Unicron spawns doing in here?!" An enraged CMO still concealed in the shadows startled them with yells, but still successfully hit their heads with his clever wrenches as they tried to cover themselves from the medic's blows; then quickly took a briefly offered chance to cover Starscream's body again with the sheets Grimlock had just eased off of her frame.

The three Dinobots groaned in pain and tried to protectively cover their most sensitive areas from the CMO once the sheets lay back over the vulnerable femme, but in that moment the lights of the med-bay turned on to reveal the three of them cowering against a corner with Ratchet hitting them with two wrenches taking turns with the tools to hit them all repeatedly and angrily.

Perceptor, the one who turned on the lights, looked on distinctly not amused by the spectacle of rage the medic presented and the Dinobot's desperate recoiling; what did amuse him slightly though was to find the patient's face covered in saliva.

"Disgusting." The scientist just said with a face that showed just how vile it really was to find someone else's bodily fluids of any sort on a comatose being; and not just dripping down her face, but her neck and part of her chest were also covered in the Dinobot's saliva.

Now he would have to clean her.

Just when the scientist was about to take a rag out to wipe her down, the alarms that showed her vitals and spark beat turned on quickly pulling the medic out of his rage and away from the Dinobots to assist her and save her life for perhaps the fortieth time.

"Not again!" Ratchet groaned as he ran to get his instruments out but not before he turned his murderous gaze towards the three dinosaurs. "You! Stay there!" He pointed at them with a menacing finger then turned back swiftly to the dying seeker. "You will not die today, Starscream! You hear me?! You will not die today!" He yelled at her. "Not on me."

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: What is Optimus planning to do with Starscream? Why does he needs her? Because obviously he will not give her back to Megatron.  
> did you enjoyed that? Any questions? Please review.  
> xoxo


	6. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story and the OCs Sunblaze and Windsong.
> 
> Warnings: None.

**Chapter Four**

_Dear diary:_

_My crimes were punished, even though my uncle and cousins were my lawyer and witnesses, even when I murdered a murderer..._

_...the Winglord believes I'm a danger to the city and part of me believes him..._

_...I don't want to see that tower again in my life, the tower I was forced to call 'home'. I hope it burns to its_ foundations _!_

_...I want to die, but even then the Winglord had other, very different, plans for me... I don't blame him; after all he's my sire's younger brother and understandably wants revenge._

_..._

* * *

The three little seekerlets lay on the ground sleeping purely due to exhaustion, the two elder mechlings held the little femme to them tightly and she at the same time hugged them just as closely in return; in her right hand was a silver blade and even though it had been just used as a weapon to kill, it didn't show any signs of the crime because no stain dirtied its surfice; the only proof that it was used was the one who still held it firmly in her little hand which somehow refused to let go of it.

Dawn broke way too soon for the little ones who had recharged in a pool of energon; the first light of the sun trying to wake them up even though they tried to refuse to leave the blissful dreamland they currently found themselves in. No harm happened there, no sorrow could chase them there, there they were free.

Or so she thought.

She could not sleep properly and thought it was because of the traumatic events of the night, she was overexcited in a bad way and she was unable to reach the same blissful paradise her cousins entered in sleep. The fact that the sun poked at her sensors in an attempt to force her to online didn't help at all.

In the beginning she refused to awake, but as the hours passed she became more and more frustrated at her inability to enter a complete recharge and eventually had to admit defeat; deciding to wake up, again, in the reality she hated so much.

She lay there then, holding her cousins and the knife, her gaze was unfocused as she tried to think about nothing but it was impossible and with time she thought she could hear voices, but she just ignored them. However they became more insistent in her head and started to make her lose her concentration; it was as if someone was talking to her in both receptors trying to convince her to do something.

When the voices started to get annoying she suddenly heard a servant cry out in horror watching her and her cousins waking the two others up successfully with his loud noises before flying away of the room.

"Star?" Skywarp hoarsely asked looking at her tiredly before rushing steps were heard, all of them heading where they unfortunately found themselves at that moment; Starscream's room.

…

* * *

Later she found herself in a cage still dirtied with her now dried sire's energon as proof of what she had done; the guards of her tower imprisoning her regardless of her cousins' cries, pleads and frantic claims that she was innocent and that she was only defending them from the monster that she had been cursed with as a sire.

No one cared as she was jailed; she refused to speak and her optics were unfocused as if she was hypnotized or as if she had fallen into recharge with her optics still online.

"Star, don't worry, we will get you out of there!" Thundercracker promised as he took Skywarp by an arm and fled as fast as he could.

She just remained there still holding the weapon she used to take her sire's life. But suddenly she heard someone saying she could easily escape. She shook her head but the voice was persistent…

…and insistent.

Finally she wished the door of her cage open so she could hide the knife; she didn't know from where that thought came from, just that she had to do it. In no time at all the door snapped open before her to her surprise and she stepped out, feeling as if something was guiding her not even realizing that that knife she was still holding was the one that pulled her to somewhere, stretching her arm forwards in a horizontal position and making her walk in the direction the object desired.

From time to time the knife made her turn somewhere and enter a room and to another and yet another, and even down a flight of stairs. She didn't even remember how many times she turned around a corner or how long she travelled down the corridors; she just obeyed blindly and completely.

Finally she reached a room, it was a guest room, and the knife pointed to the ground so she sat on her knees and looked for something out of the ordinary in the floor. In the center of the room there was a symbol that looked like a sun and once she touched it, it opened revealing a little wooden box.

Wood was expensive material as it was brought from another planet, so, from where had her sire acquired it? The box was decorated with some weird glyphs that somehow she could read but knew instinctively not to say out loud. She just opened the box and inserted the knife into it then firmly closed it and concealed it back in its place. The 'sun' closed immediately after and just in time as she could again hear rushed steps as mechs searched everywhere looking for her.

"Here! I found her!" A mech's voice said before taking her in his arms to retrieve her with the intention of returning her to her cage.

"No! Please my Winglord! She's innocent! She was just defending my mechs from whatever Nightscream tried to do to them; I know because my sons _never_ lie!"

She could hear an older mech's voice trying to defend her as his steps and another's approached the mech clutching her.

"I know exactly what he did to her! I know what he did to his sparklings! I know what happened in this tower and if I know then you must know too!"

"If you knew," This time another voice answered the other mech. "...then why did you send your sons here in the first place?" It was spat out like an accusation.

"I don't know! I just came to see my sister's daughter! It was not my intention to leave them here! I don't know what possessed me! ...Or maybe I _do_ know… Nightscream's witchcraft!"

Both steps stopped before the second mech spoke again: "You better keep that trap of yours shut!"

"You knew! You knew and did nothing!" The first voice shouted. "He killed my sister! He killed my nephew! And almost killed my niece! And tried to do Primus-knows-what to _my_ sons!"

"Shut up!" The second voice shouted this time in anger. "You better shut up and start thinking of your family, of your mates!"

"Or what?"

"Do not provoke me, Windsong."

Their walking resumed before the first one of them, her uncle Windsong spoke again: "You will pay for this, Sunblaze! Primus will make you pay for doing this to an innocent sparkling!"

"Primus knows I'm right." The Winglord said before reaching Starscream who was still held by the same guard in his arms; she was not struggling or crying. It was as if she was not there at all.

He examined her and noticed she was still covered in her sire's energon. He let out a tired sigh before deciding what to do.

"Put her on the ground." He ordered the guard and he obeyed.

In that same moment, Windsong came and hurriedly took her in his arms in a protective embrace. "Everything will be OK, sweetspark, I promise." He said in a broken voice, as if he was crying. He stroked her little wings and cradled her in his arms as if she were a baby. She hugged her uncle back feeling as though it will be the last time she will be able to do such.

"Everybody! Come here!" The Winglord ordered; in no time all the servants and guards of the tower including his personal guards were gathered around them.

She, even as unresponsive as she was, could feel her spark beating hard against her chest in nervousness and could feel the same sensation happening to her uncle. The uncertainty was killing them with its suspense.

"Please, Winglord, have mercy." Her uncle tried again, desperation writen all over his face as he hold her dearly. "She's also your niece!"

"Quiet!" One of the guards barked.

"I, Sunblaze, Winglord of Vos, for the crime of murdering your sire in the most horrifying and brutal way I've ever had the disgrace of seeing, Starscream, I condemn you to-" He was suddenly interrupted.

"No! Please!" Her uncle Windsong tried again, his desperation at the hopless situation make his voice break as his optics cried. "She's family! You can't do this to her for defending herself and others!"

"Quiet!" This time the guard took her roughly from his arms as other two grabbed him as he struggled and shouted to get her back.

"Starscream, you are banished from Vos," The Winglord continued as Windsong froze when those words reached his audios. "You can't take anything but what you're wearing, all your possessions will be taken by the government and this tower will be destroyed; and if you dare to return you will be shot to death. I have spoken! It is my word and should never be challenged!" He finished.

All present stood frozen. It was as if their Winglord had doomed her, a sparkling and his own niece, to die! After all, she was so very young and surely she would not survive the long trip to the next city or even that little town that is in the outsides of the faraway mountains their city found itself in. They questioned why he did not simply execute her; shoot her or rip out her spark and put an end to her misery? That was what had been expected…

"No one is allowed to help her or give her anything," The Winglord continued. "And she must leave Vos at once!" He said to everybody before him. "You will escort her to the outskirts of the city and make sure she never returns." He said to two of his personal escorts before turning on his heel and walking away without a backward glance.

No one said anything after that, not even her beloved uncle Windsong could utter a single phrase that made sense.

…

* * *

The two guards escorted her to the frontier in one of the tallest mountains that served as gates to the city of the fliers ready to do as their Winglord commanded.

One of them took a rag from his subspace and knelt in front of her to start cleaning her.

"What are you doing?!" The other demanded.

"The right thing! You well know this is unfair! This is the least I can do." He continued wiping her frame softly even though she didn't struggle or give any other sign that she knew what was happening.

Outside was a raging cold storm with strong winds that threatened anyone to dare to ride them; it would be impossible for her to survive it because her little wings were not prepared for long periods of flying or she had the energy to fly that far.

The other guard then subspaced three cubes of energon and offered them to her but she didn't acknowledge them. "Please, take them." He whispered gently.

Once his partner was done with her cleaning he took the cubes from the other and said: "Please, my lady, please, you need to refuel." He tried to offer them to her as he cradled her little frame against his warm chest. She slowly took it and drank until the cube was empty.

"Please forgive us, my lady, we know this is wrong, but he's the Winglord and there's nothing we can do but obey his orders." The first one spoke.

"Lady Starscream," The other started taking one of her little hands and putting the back of it against the front of his helmet. "Please forgive us, please." He cried as quietly as he could. It was cruel to do this to a little and defenseless sparkling and they knew this more than most as both of them were creators themselves.

Her little hand moved, turning around to caress his face in an understanding gesture even if her face showed no flicker of any emotion, it was as if she was dead inside as the cold winds brushed her soft metallic skin.

After what seemed like an eternity, the guard that held her set her on the rocky ground watching her unexpressive face with saddened optics and gave her the two remaining energon cubes for her journey.

"Highness, there's one more thing before you go," The guard started. "He knew, the Winglord knew; he always knew what happened there; we all did, we are all guilty, but we were afraid…" He bent his head down to make his point clear. "Your sire… he-" Before he could finish she stopped him with an empty look that made his spark and his partner's clench in pain born of guilt.

"We're in debt to you, my lady, and I'm afraid we will never be able to repay you… please take this," He took from his subspace a very well-known datapad to her. "I took it from your room because I knew you would like to have it." She grasped it as he passed it to her before saving it in her little subspace.

"Go now my lady, go and live and when you're older and stronger return, no one will be able to stop you then. Vos is in debt to you for not listening, for not being there for you and will be forever." He finished in a broken tone before she turned on her little heel to watch the void she had to fly in, in order to reach the next city or town.

The wind was stronger than ever and whispered to her what it wanted her to do and the possible fate she will face if she dared to mount it. Even then she ignited her little thrusters and went as far away as she could not even turning her gaze back once.

She didn't know where she was going, what direction to take; she had no map, alone and helpless against the elements she just flew, leaving in the hope of never having to return.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Where is poor little Starscream going? Who will she find in her path? How will she cope with all that pain?  
> Oh! and the age little Starscream is when this happened was like 6 years old, just for you to know... I don't know how many vorns that is, sorry.


	7. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story and the OCs Nightscream and the strange mech.  
> Warnings: language and death of a character...

**Chapter Five**

"Unbelievable," Megatron paced around his room with the datapad in hand not really believing any word that was written in it. "So, Starscream is a little princess from the dead Vos and was banished after being brutally abused by his... er... her sire? Really Starscream, you did have an amazing imagination for novels and any other kind of stories," He chuckled darkly, "Oh my, you really had talent with that if I think clearly."

Megatron remembered all the times Starscream lied to him and all the times he had to punish him. "Ha! Even his own trine knew he was lying because they never tried to defend their... ' _Winglord_ '." He laughed this time. "Winglord Starscream? If you were their Winglord they would have never let me lay a finger on you... _just like with him_." He said thinking in something that remained in the past until now.

"Too bad," He continued shaking the last thoughts from his head, "...that I didn't keep you as a storyteller when I was bored my aft off like now.

"But then again, it would have been nice to have a femme here for myself, it has been so long since the last time I touched one..." He smirked "If you were a femme, Starscream, and if I had known I would have kept you for my own personal amusement and pleasure, because you were never good at anything it seems; I still don't know what I was thinking when I chose you as my Second; you only knew how to disobey,"

He took one of his last energon cubes from his reserve and started drinking what was obviously high grade. "... and it was your disobedience that got you killed now." he continued rambling to no one in particular as he took another long sip.

Taking a dizzy look at his now emptied cube, Megatron decided to sit back on his berth to resume his reading and save some energy for when the moment came that he would have to make another battle plan with Soundwave; and what kind of plan would it be if almost all of his army was destroyed?

He didn't wanted to think of it anymore so again he read ' _The most interesting story he ever read_ '... that's how he put it.

…

* * *

_Dear diary:_

_I am banished from Vos, now I can never go back, or I will be shot to death... but why didn't I try to stay then? So he or his guards would kill me and end my misfortune._

_...But now I'm so hungry..._

_...But somehow I don't care at the same time..._

_I flew over a few towns and cities, I don't recall their names, just that there were many bots there, and many of them were bad, some even tried to attack me. I've never seen so many bots before...! Maybe that's because I lived in one of the highest towers of Vos once upon a time and not many seekers flew up there._

_I'm alone here and still hungry, I can't fly like this anymore, I have not enough energy and I refuse to steal something to refuel... I'm afraid next time someone tries to attack me they will succeed as I'm unable to defend myself anymore._

_Is this what you have for me, Primus? It hurts my spark to think of that..._

_...But if that's what you got in store for me, so be it! I'll take a nap now, I'm so tired... I hope to never wake up... Sunstorm... I just hope I can go where you are._

...

* * *

The raging cold storm was guiding her little body with its strong winds in all directions forcing her to use all her energy to keep herself balanced and to avoid hitting the pointy rocks of the mountains, but even then it was impossible for her little frame and her undeveloped wings to tame the winds... or even ride them properly.

In one of those swirls she was forced into she didn't see a piece of the mountain that came out of nowhere until it was too late, and she crashed against it hard making her little subspace open and one of the cubes of energon she had fall out of it and crash against the pointy rocks of the mountain breaking itself into pieces and releasing its contents against the side.

She barely had time to grab the last cube and her datapad before they fell and shared the same fate as the broken cube, but the price was high as she was unable to fly anymore; somehow the winds kept her down and the cold condensation the storm produced started burying her as she even tried to fly and her wings started to freeze making her unable to feel the winds properly, adding to the low to non-existent visibility, it made flying impossible.

For a second she thought this was going to be her cold, lonely and forgotten grave as she gave up and started crying and weeping her misery out, her whole frame shaking not just out of cold when she cried and let out all the sorrow and suffering she had endured in the last few vorns in a mighty scream of agony.

She did the unthinkable to save the ones she loved and this was the price she had to pay for it as heresy was written all over her optics and frame; the scars that she possessed now after her sire tattooed her to feed himself with her essence were visible now somehow; she never saw them before and she felt so filthy because of it, so filthy that she grabbed a rock and started scrubbing her whole body with it in attempt of removing them; but it was useless as they did not even seemed to blur out but seemed like they shone as she heard her sire's mocking and dark laughter at her.

" _You pathetic little bitch, you will never get rid of my marks, you're mine and will always be!_ " He laughed again as she shook her head and covered her receptors screaming.

The tears that left her optics froze before they could touch the icy ground as she cried and screamed in order to quieten the voice. "SHUT UP!"

She screamed with all her might, but it was useless, her sire's ghost deciding to hunt her forever or so it seemed.

" _You didn't let me finish_ " He continued as she started hitting her head against a rock. " _That will not work either, sweetspark;_ " he added in a tone that made her stop and her body shiver in disgust.

" _You will have to consume other mech's lives if you want to survive; not even the best energon will be enough to fulfill your hunger, then you will start feeling pain, pain as if your whole body is burning in the pit; but let me recommend you something: sparklings, they might be small, but the energy they will give you will be enough for you to survive for orns!_ "

She started shaking as she heard those words; she would have to kill? No! She refused!

" _And it will only get worse if you resist; no one can resist The Spirit when hungry!_ "

Suddenly she turned her head and there he was, her sire, in all his winged glory, looking at her as if her situation was marvelous fun for him. All the hate she had inside of her was released in her next scream of: "SHUT UP! GO TO THE PIT!" And from her optics formed strange dark marks like spines that started covering her face partially and her golden optics turned a deep crimson red.

" _What are you doing?! Stop! You don't know what you're doing!"_ Her sire sounded desperate as the image of his spirit started burning and dissolving like burning paper that was taken by the flames of the pit itself.

She didn't stop as she heard Nightscream's cries of agony for her to stop nor when she saw his spirit being burned away in what looked like the fires of the pit and from them dark shadows emerged and with their sharp long claws ripped up the rest of his spirit, taking him to the deepest abyss of the pit.

The feeling after that was awkward and indescribable, she lay there motionless not really believing what just happened in front of her optics; in her head the only thoughts were ' _was that real?_ ' not truly accepting what she saw as automatically lifted herself and started walking without a course just as she started.

...

* * *

She finally reached a city minutes later, not knowing how as she had wandered in those mountains without a guide and without hurry; maybe she was too young to know about geography, but she did know that for an average adult seeker it took roughly two days to reach the first city that was closest to Vos... and that was when flying; she had no idea how long it would take the same average seeker to reach the destination walking.

Starscream didn't pay much attention as she entered and watched many femmes and mechs walk by in a hurry or like riding vehicles in the same hurry. She wondered why they needed to hurry so.

Suddenly she felt someone grabbing her by a wing and she squeaked in surprise; but then she saw two mechs with ugly faces and even more ugly intentions. "What is such a pretty little thing like you doing here all alone?" One of them asked as the other took her from the street. "Well, don't worry; we'll take good care of you..." He said as he started touching her whole frame and she shivered in disgust when she recognized the same look her sire used to give her.

When the other came closer to touch her as well, she released the loudest and highest scream she could produce leaving the mechs temporarily grabbing their own receptors as the high sound she made hurt their sensors, and even made the glass of their optics tremble as if they were going to break.

Taking that as an opportunity to escape, she took off into the skies listening to them recover from her attack and try to order her to come back down to them, and even chased her throwing rocks at her.

Luckily none of them hit her as she flew as fast and high as she could, returning to the mountains in search of the next city or a path.

But as she reached the same way she came, something weird happened; she felt as if she was pushed and pulled at the same time, and suddenly, another city was at her front; she could not believe her luck, she had flown for just a few minutes and now she had reached a big city that looked to be made of crystal and, as its predecessor, this one was highly populated with its inhabitants going elsewhere in a hurry.

...

* * *

Night fell and so she decided that her exploration was over and she found a good place to rest and consume the last of her energon as she was hungry. It was under a big silver bridge where she sat and proceeded to drink her cube that she heard something... or let's say someone.

A mech was running with something tightly wrapped in his arms and found the same place to hide she had found, just that this one was on the ground and hers was much higher up.

The mech sat, exhausted looking everywhere as if paranoid about somebody catching him and, when he felt safe, he started sobbing; the little bundle that was wrapped in his arms started moving... and crying out loud.

That startled the mech who took the precious cargo and started rocking it back and forth. "Please, hush! Please!" he said as quietly as he could; the problem was that the thing in his arms didn't seem to understand his situation and didn't cease in its loud cry.

Starscream watched with interest as the mech was unsuccessful with whatever he was trying to do, and if he was holding a sparkling this one was probably hungry; and with that last thought she descended from her safe hiding place and landed in front of the crying mech and sparkling.

The mech looked at her startled for a moment but then his expression softened as she held her last cube of energon out towards him. "For the little one," She said as the other just watched in awe. "It's not poisoned." She finished.

With hesitation in his optics he took it from her little servo and started drinking it himself to her surprise. "What are you doing?" She asked in disbelief.

A second after that he opened something in his chest and two cables like feeding tubes appeared and he put one in the little mouth of the sparkling, then the other one he put in a second mouth, a second sparkling!

The little ones drank greedily from the tubes and he softly looked at her. "Thank you," he then reached for her and she came closer to see the creatures. "Sideswipe," he said pointing at the red one, "and Sunstreaker." He pointed the yellow-golden one.

"They are cute," she said, but suddenly she remembered her sire's last words:

_'Sparklings... more energy, more pureness.'_

She shook her head and those thoughts away which gained the mech's attention. "Are you OK?" And as she just nodded he decided to continue. "Good, they are my sons. I'm going back home, I'm not staying here in this cursed shiny city anymore, they tried to experiment on my sparklings!"

She looked at him in shock. "Yes," he continued. "Because they are rare or something, split spark twins... I will not let them come to any harm, even if I have to walk all the way back to Praxus." He then stopped and released a tired sigh. "I don't have anything, they took everything from me here, I can't even take a transport to go back home to my creators." He finished with a sigh before taking a look at his hungy sparklings.

"I suggest you leave this place too," he said after an uncomfortable silence.

...

* * *

The next morning she decided to follow the mech as he asked her to come with them and they reached the train station.

"Take this," she said holding a golden medal, her family crest. "Sell it so you might be able to go back to your home." She spoke leaving no doubt that he had to take it and do as she said.

"What about you? This is yours, and it is very expensive, you might need it someday." He said in surprise. "I've already taken too much from you, I just, I ca-" He was interrupted as she put the golden object in his hand and started walking away without another word,

"Why?" He stopped her before she could disappear into the sea of mechs and femmes there.

"It is the right thing, besides, it is useless to me." She said and continued as she saw he was about to say something, "...bad memories, don't ask, and... I can get many more from where that came from." She finished as she resumed her walking away from him.

He didn't know what else to say, not even the word 'thank you' could leave his lips as he watched her walk away. He looked at the big family crest and then at the place she was seconds ago. ' _An angel_ ' was the first thought that crossed his mind as he walked back to the station.

"Primus be with you... angel," he said once he recovered himself remembering that she didn't give him her name.

...

* * *

Starscream felt her spark ache in sadness as she let the mech and his sparklings go without her, he was about to ask her to go with them, to be part of his family... but she couldn't... she felt so worthless... worthy of nothing, not even the skies she used to fly... or the ground she stepped on now.

Later that day, she found an alley with lots of garbage, a perfect place to hide, especially now that she was almost out of energy...

She sat in a corner, turned on her datapad and started writing on it.

Hours later she turned it off and subspaced it back before offlining her optics as tears ran down her cheeks, her spark was still hurting and she knew that now was her time, in moments she would be gone...

...She'd been waiting for this moment...

...Then she stopped hearing, seeing or feeling as blissful darkness surrounded her; not even that annoying voice was there, it was just her and the dark.

' _Finally_ ' was her last thought before losing the last thing she possessed, and the last thing she

wanted...

...Her body.

...

* * *

A shadow engulfed her little offlined frame later in the night and looked at her curiously.

"A seeker?" the owner of the shadow said not daring to touch the little body yet.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, Megatron was drunk in this chapter; since he has nothing else to consume but highgrade energon after the Autobots make sure the Decapticons get no droop of energon... well, he's consuming the last of his reserves... and with that, confesing the truth of what he might have done to the former SIC... you know what they said: 'A drunken one never lies'  
> Also, as one of my readers said that coudn't understand why made Screamer a femme it will be revealed in a later chapter; I have a reason I PROMISE! or I would have made him/her a mech.


	8. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story and the OCs

_**Chapter Six** _

_Dear diary:_

_I don't know what happened... the last thing I remember is falling into recharge, the next thing..._

_Optics, as deep as a lake, a pure energy that surrounds his whole frame but when I look into his pure and innocent optics I feel safe, I can lose myself again in blissful ignorance somehow; I can't even describe it properly._

_... I don't dare say the word for fear of losing it after just seconds of winning it... just that it feels good._

_..._

* * *

The next time she onlined her optics she was back in that shiny city with the mech and his sparklings.

But everything seemed so lifeless and gray; the wind was the only sound that accompanied them as they walked in the desolate streets.

"So, you're from Vos, correct? I've never seen a seeker before and a sparkling seeker? Wow, I must be the luckiest mech now." He said with a smile holding both creations in one single bundle; both of them were quiet as their creator talked to her and tried to make her talk back.

...but she didn't respond, she just kept walking with him as deadly quiet as a shadow.

"I have my mate here," He continued ignoring her silence and actually using it for his own monologue to continue. "...He's a great and very important scientist."

She just limited herself to nodding as he continued, "He is one of the head scientists of the council of scientists here in Crystal City and loves to explore and particularly experiment on things. For him, everything has an answer, cause and effect..." He trailed off for a bit. "Including our sons." He said with a hint of sadness.

She frowned at that last sentence as she had passed through something similar in her life. It was just her bad luck that made her lack a protective carrier like this one to keep her and her brother away from the monster of their sire.

"What about you?" He asked again trying to get an answer from her as they kept walking the endless and lifeless gray streets. "I noticed you are... sad? Is that the reason you gave me this?" He questioned her at the moment he unsubspaced her golden family seal/crest in the palm of his hand.

She looked at him in surprise and the word, " _What?!_ " Escaped her lips in a whisper as looking at the object she had just given away.  
Then she noticed she was probably dreaming as she was certain that she would never see it, or that mech, again.

"Sadness is not a reason to die, but a reason to keep us going, a reason to help us to find happiness." He said with compassion and compression in his tone; but just as she was about to answer him in a negative way he continued. "Don't die..."

The sound of his voice slowly ebbed away.

...

* * *

The next thing she saw was darkness but she felt the light of the day on her face, tried to move her head to one side and breathe a little.

"Hello?" Was the next thing she heard which confused her. Who was with her? "Are you onlining?" The soft voice asked again.

She just let out a soft moan trying to show how uncomfortable she was for awakening again in the world of the living ones, moving her head to one side in tired discomfort as everything she wanted was to remain in that blissful darkness where no pain or hunger could reach her; but since _that_ day, that had become impossible.

It started first with her head, a dull ache that begun at the front of her head and spread as fast as if a lightning bold had shot through her just in the place her two optics found themselves; she decided to ignore it and try to offline again.

But the mech's voice was insistent: "Are you O.K.?" His tone sounded worried.

She moaned again feeling how the pain reached her hands and legs; it was something she'd never felt before; she tried to ball her fists as tight as she could manage, but found it hard and frowned in pain.

Trying to find some release she moved her head again to the position he was found in then weakly onlined her optics.

Looking at his shiny white armor and big innocent baby blue optics she felt as though the pain reached another level. Her mouth; her _teeth_ hurt too, but why?

Pain, like corrosive and burning acid running in her veins, caused her to let out a loud and mighty screech arching her back up like a bow at the same time she tried to cry out for help, but the pain was so intense she could only scream to the horror of the one in front of her.

"What's wrong?! Please! Tell me!" He tried to touch her but she only pushed him away screaming in agony not knowing what else to do.

Tears started flowing from her optics like a cascade of sorrow and misery as her body moved trying to find some release from the agonizing pain that assaulted her, something fresh, something cold... just something!

It was then that it hit the young mech, he ran to his wash racks and starting filling the tub with cold water before running out of his quarters to get some things, and when he returned he mixed the contents of what he brought in the tub. When he was done he went for his agonized guest.

Starscream felt horrible, like the same dark claws that tore her sire's ghost were doing the same to her as she felt she was being burned from the inside out, bleeding from newly made wounds and adding that something that felt like acid on said wounds.

Suddenly she felt someone lift her from the bed and hurry somewhere. When she onlined her optics again she saw... him...

...Those optics... so pure... she must...

 _'No_!' She thought inwardly as her body craved for something, something she refused to take…

...His life... to tear apart that neck of his as she drank from his sweet, pure and delicious life essence; her now sharp fangs ached to taste him, demanded attention, at least one drop.

She bared her fangs silently at him showing him the danger and her now pointy sharp claws threatened to slice apart his armor.

"It's OK, you will be OK soon" He said trying to keep calm and succeeding even as his voice wavered before lowering her burning frame into the cold tub. Then unsubspaced a syringe and inserted its full content into her neck which paralyzed her and forced her into recharge once again; but even then she kept shaking in pain and flinching from time to time.

"That was weird." The young mech said as he worriedly observed her, remembering how he found her and how his caretaker refused to bring her back with them to the house. But he, being an insistent mech, won. He smiled remembering that.

But then that smile faded as he asked in a hushed tone to his seeker: "What happened to you?"

...

* * *

It was late and dark when Starscream was able to online again; the horrible burning pain all over her body had somehow vanished leaving behind a dull ache and a numb feeling as if something was missing.

Moving her head to one side on a soft surface, ' _a pillow?_ ' She thought, deciding to force her tired optics online to take her surroundings into account.

Taking a deep breath she noticed the luxuriously decorated room, but once she moved her head to the other side, as she was laying on her back, she found a couple of pure blue optics staring at her, that made her breathing stop suddenly.

"Hello," He said. "Are you OK?"

Starscream looked at him with fear, fear of hurting him, fear of him hurting her.

"Hey, its ok, no one's going to hurt you. I have some warm energon for you if you would like some?"

The little seeker hesitated but nodded instead, unable to utter a single word. This was too good to be true, was she dreaming?

The young shuttle smiled encouragingly, slowly offering the cube to his little guest. "It's good I promise."

With hesitation and in a broken voice the little tricolored seeker asked after gathering all the courage she could muster: "Am I... dreaming?"

The shuttle's optics softened further, "No, you are safe in my home. No one will harm you here." He finished before the little seeker shyly took the cube, sniffing at it before drinking it down fast as if frightened it was going to disappear.

"Hey, hey, hey, slow down, you will make yourself purge. There is more if you would like some-" In that moment just that happened, she barely had time to lower her cube before she purged almost all she just drank onto the berth sheets; she looked at him in fear and couldn't hold back her tears.

"No harm done," he reached out tentatively to rub her back soothingly. "Do your tanks feel OK? I'll get you some new sheets, alright?" He watched her nod in tears and, as he turned away, her optics followed him through a film of liquid as he walked away to get some new sheets.

The shuttle came back quickly and replaced the sheets still looking at her and speaking to her with his gentle words. "Shh don't cry, it's OK." Softly dabbing at Star's optics with an unsubspaced cloth he asked, "Do you feel alright?" Before watching her shake her head in a _'no'_ gesture. "What's wrong? It's alright you can talk to me."

Starscream didn't know how to correctly express her feelings; just that she didn't feel good and shook her head again in denial.

"That's alright, I'll be here when you're ready." He said with a kind tone of voice she hadn't heard since... since... long ago. "By the way... I'm Skyfire... can you tell me your name?"

Starscream pulled the sheets around her and nibbled on her lower lip as she barely managed to whisper the word " _Star_..."

"Your name is Star? That's a pretty name." He said in an approving tone she almost didn't recognize.

"... _Scream_..." She continued in the same low whisper; at least the shuttle had good receptors.

"Starscream, yes?" He asked at the moment he watched her nod still holding the sheets protectively against her little frame. "That's a lovely name! Are you cold?" He said when he finally noticed how tightly the little seeker was holding the sheets then watched her shake her head in the same _'no'_ gesture as before. "Ok... you are... not frightened of me are you?" She didn't answer but balled her little fists tightly. "It's OK I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." He smiled softly.

"By the way, how did you end up all alone and with no one to look after you? I heard seekers are very protective of their younglings... why are you so... a-" He watched her silently cry a cascade of tears out of her optics and that made his spark clench in pain/pity and made him stop his ramblings.

Without a second thought he went silent and slowly pulled the blanket covered sparkling into his arms, beginning to rock Starscream slowly as she cried. The little seeker accepted his embrace and leaned into it crying softly and quietly, like she always did.

Stroking her back through the blanket, "It's OK, you're OK." He crooned to her wordlessly, engines revving softly to keep her warm. "You're safe now..."

Starscream eventually fell asleep in his embrace wet tears staining her pristine face.

The young mech wondered to himself ' _Who would do this to a poor little defenseless sparkling? I might not be an expert, but her scars suggested..._ ' He trailed off not really wanting to think about it.

"I will look after you, little one, you deserve to be happy or my name is not Skyfire. It's a promise!" He whispered with determination; after all, he had always wanted a little sister.

...

* * *


	9. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story and the OCs Cloudrider and Skyfall.

_**Chapter Seven** _

_Dear diary:_

_It's been days since the first time I came here to live with Skyfire and his brother; they are a scientist family and I hope I can meet the rest of the family soon since both brothers treat me like I was a little sister to them..._

_...I like that; I can't help but smile now..._

_I thought I was going to die, that the voices in my head along with the pain my sire warned me about were going to kill me, mercilessly drowning me in a sea of pain... but that didn't happen and Primus gave me hope again._

...

* * *

"Star?" Skyfire called, standing in the entrance to her room, decorated with all the creature comforts a Cybertronian could ask for. A berth stood along one wall while a console rested against the opposite one. Three lamps perched around the room, softly lighting the space a soothing yellow. The door to the en suite washracks was ajar, hinting at a large tiled area accompanied by a bathtub. "Are you ready? We must go now." He said as he entered the room to find her just looking at the tall windows, datapad in hand.

"Are you ready?" He tried again as she turned and gave him a smile and a nod. "Good, now let's go." He held his hand up for her to take and they left the room.

She remembered meeting Skyfire and how terrified she was in the beginning of him, but the shuttle was so kind and gentle that even his energy field radiated the... tenderness that made her feel at ease with him. Then she met his elder brother, Jetfire, who was also kind but with another kind of character... more of a party mech even if he was one of the most valued scientists in the whole city.

Both brothers took her in as if she was part of their family never asking where she came from or how she ended up alone after Skyfire mentioned to Jetfire her reactions to such questions. That made her feel even better with them.

"Where are we going?" She asked Skyfire who subspaced some more datapads and looked at her kindly before stroking her helm; she learned into his touch.

"Home, this is only a temporary place, so Jetfire might get what we need before returning home." He said, but then added. "I will be as great a scientist as him and my creators; I've already started my studies, I love science." He finished up again with sparkling optics before looking at her face that clearly said _'Seriously?_ ' then continued again "Yeah... ermmm... I think I'm kind of nerd, you know…? I think it's in the family or something." He chuckled and continued even after he watched his brother stealthily come up from behind her.

"Eek!" She squeaked after he took her in his arms and, pushing her against his chest, started turning faster and faster on his heels like a tornado with her pressed tightly against his chassis.

"What is our little beloved princess doing that made her elder brother wait too long?" Jetfire said as he nuzzled her neck and pressed his lips there, blowing against her metallic skin; the fart like sound it produced made Starscream giggle in his grasp as he rocked her back and forth.

"Aaaaaw, stooooop," she tried as he started tickling her on her wingtips, setting her laughing in no time, begging for him to stop even though she really enjoyed the attention.

"Awww, ticklish aren't you?" Jetfire teased as she screeched and laughed in joy as he continued with his ministrations.

But just when Skyfire decided to join in, their old grumpy caretaker shuttle, Cloudrider stepped into the room and the three winged younglings instantly stopped their playing, even if they were still giggling.

It wasn't even necessary for Cloudrider to utter a word to tell them what to do, he had always looked after the brothers since they were small sparklings and he could handle them with one look and that look said at that moment: _'Stop now with that childish act! We're getting late!_ ' But as it appeared the brothers didn't catch the meaning of the 'look' he gave the three as they were not moving, simply looking at him with wide optics like children who were caught taking a candy without permission, he said: "Come on! Move your young afts! Jetfire! You're the eldest of the three! You should set the example!"

Like frightened petrorabbits the three moved as fast as their frames allowed them, standing and walking through the door, but not before Cloudrider spanked their afts at least once as they walked through the door for making him lose his time.

Even though Jetfire was too old to be spanked by an elder he didn't protest, just rubbed the assaulted part with one hand and walked faster with the other two in front, who made the same rubbing action against their afts, before taking Starscream again in his arms as she squeaked in surprise as he held her above his shoulder and motioned his brother with a look to run to the entrance to 'leave' behind the elder.

The three laughed as they heard Cloudrider's scream: "Yeah, you better run! Faster!"

Even though Starscream could not see the elder mech, she could not hear his voice growing weaker; it was as if he was chasing after them. Stopping her laughing to hear better, she heard a third set of pedes running after them; It seemed Cloudrider was not as old as Jetfire told her if he could keep up with them.

"Oh no! Sky! The ancient monster is chasing us! Run, brother, run!" Jetfire teased as Skyfire giggled as he tried to do as his brother said.

"Yeah!" Cloudrider said "Run faster and if this 'Ancient Monster' doesn't see in three clicks the three of you in the air I will have your afts!"

Threat accepted, Jetfire and Skyfire stopped their laughing and giggling, and ran for their lives to the launching ramp and from there jumped into the skies before transforming into their alt-modes and taking little Starscream inside Jetfire's cabin.

...

* * *

Hours later when they were traveling over the cold and desolate mountains, Starscream could not help but wonder how did she reached those cities in such a short time, in a storm, without a map and her little undeveloped frame?

"Jetfire?" She decided to ask her elder brother. "You're a scientist, right?"

"Yes, beauty, what can this humble scientist do for you?" He answered from the speakers in his cabin.

"Humm... I was wondering... when I left Vos... I was... alone..." She hesitated.

"Continue," He tried to encourage her, sensing her nervousness, but otherwise decided to not question her.

"It took me an hour to reach the first city from there, and it was stormy..." She paused.

"What city, dear?"

"Iacon... but I know that for an average adult seeker mech it takes like a day or two to reach the first city nearest Vos, and Iacon is very far away from there... and... and... Iacon is also far from Crystal City."

"So... your point is?" He wondered if she was interested in geography more than in science, but his creators would test her to see if she was intelligent enough to also be a part of the scientific team they had.

"I don't know what happened or how I reached Iacon or Crystal City in such a short amount of time. Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

That sounded like something he once heard when younger from his grand-sire. "Were you flying? I suppose, and... I think the winds of the storms could guide you in your way... but even then, Iacon is far away from the mountains." He concluded with a frown of his own. He needed to know more.

"I was not flying, I could not, the winds were too strong for me to ride them."

"Were you walking, then?" He really could not believe that part, a sparkling walking alone in the most aggressive mountains that Cybertron had. There was a reason why only seekers inhabited them after all.

"Yes... and... and suddenly I was in Iacon! But then when I ran away from there I was in the mountains again and a few minutes later I was at the entrance to Crystal City! I don't know what happened!" She said in a tone that pleaded with him to not believe she was crazy.

"Hmm... interesting."

"You don't think I'm crazy?"

"No, my dear, never!" He said in a loving tone that made her relax. "But I think that my grand-sire can explain to you better what might have happened; I once heard him talk about a theory that in certain parts of Cybertron there are natural wormholes that can transport you faster into certain parts."

"Wormholes?" She asked curiously, those sounded rare.

"Yes, like space gates, we're still developing that technology but with the help of those natural wormholes around, if we can study them, everything will be easier." A big smile was heard in his voice as he talked. "I think grand-sire will love to meet you, Star."

"You think?" Hope that someone would ever 'love' her again was written all over her face.

"Of course, just let me mention to him the fact that you seemed to use one of them and he will adore you immediately."

…

* * *

It was hours later and Starscream had long since fallen asleep inside of Jetfire when they finally reached the base they were heading to; a huge monumental building, reminiscent of an old-fashioned castle, surrounded by ancient mountain and populated by shuttles. The moment the structure spotted the three shuttles it scanned them for a few seconds and, once convinced they were friends not foes, it opened its huge gates to permit them entry.

"Time to wake up, princess," Jetfire said. "We're home now, come on, let's meet the family."

"Hmm..." Groaning before onlining her optics, Starscream stepped out of Jetfire groggily; it was late in the night when they arrived at the place Jetfire and Skyfire had told her about.

Close up it looked like a huge laboratory embedded in a mountain; everything was kept so white and... _clean_.

"Where is she?! Where is the little seeker femme you talked to me about?!" Suddenly a blue and white, big and old shuttle appeared between the brothers looking for her.

"Take it easy, grand-sire or you will freak her out." Jetfire chuckled. The elder of the two brothers hadn't been able to wait to arrive to tell his grand-sire about what Starscream had told him about, and as the little seekerlet was then sleeping deeply he took the chance to tell the elder everything; of course the elder jumped out of surprise and ordered the three to fly faster claiming he was ' _getting older by the astrosecond_ '.

Starscream cowered behind Skyfire's white leg as she watched the elder looking for her like a turbofox after his prey; once he spotted her, he gently called out: "Come on little one, come out, I will not hurt you... anyway I'm too old, I should fear you young ones, no one really knows what passes through your processors until it's too late." He knelt and took an energon treat from his subspace and offered it to her. "Come on," he tried again.

Skyfire, noticing her unease also knelt and took her in his arms to her surprise. "It's OK Star; grand-sire only wants to meet you." She was now between two shuttles, but she knew that it would be alright just because Skyfire told her everything would be.

With hesitation she took the candy from the big, old shuttle's hand, and this one smiled caringly to her. Then he took her in his arms, to her surprise, and rocked her back and forth as if she was a newborn spark.

"You're so small and young! What are you doing awake at this hour? You should be asleep, don't worry," the big elder stood and took her away from the surprised group of mechs behind them. "...Your grand-sire is here now," He cooed to her surprise too. "...Grand-sire Skyfall will look after you..." He continued like that until he disappeared from the view of the brothers and their caretaker; by that time, Starscream had fallen back into recharge feeling safe and warm in the arms of this kind mech, not even caring that she was treated like a newspark.

"OK..." Jetfire mused. "That was weird." He scratched the back of his helm as Skyfire could only nod; both mechs could not remove their gazes from the place their grand-sire had disappeared from their view with Starscream.

"It has been so long since Skyfall saw or held a little sparkling into his arms..." Cloudrider pointed out pausing to see if the brothers understood what he meant. But in the end he noticed they didn't, so he decided to continue: "A little sparkling? Come on! At least you, Jetfire!" Taking a look at the young scientist's face he just shook his head and explained: "His ancient codes activated at the sight of that little defenceless thing and now he will look upon her as his own."

"OK, now I get it!" Skyfire smiled. "It is good to see grand-sire like that, then."

"I was hoping for him to overwhelm her with questions about wormholes." Jetfire chuckled. "But this went better than I expected."

In that moment Cloudrider interrupted, hitting his hand against the back of the youngster's helms and barked: "Come on, you aft-helms! Your creators are waiting for your reports on Crystal City, especially yours Skyfire; they want to know everything about that little femme you _insisted_ in bringing back with you that night."

The two brothers saw no other choice but to obey their caretaker and walked to ' _Lab number four'_ looking for their creators.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: OK; this was some kind of 'relax chapter'... I'm wondering if you will like to see more of it... or want me to jump all this part about Starscream meeting the family and go to another point? I need to know, so, please review and tell me what you will like to see next :)  
> OH! btw, because many of you asked for it, I will publish the next chapter as the Second Interlude, and you will know about the Autobots and Starscream :) ...and what Optimus will do to the seeker once this one awakes. D:


	10. Interlude 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.

**Interlude 2**

"What are you think you doing, you perverted Unicron spawns?!" Ratchet barked at the three now covered Dinobots at the same time he managed to hit the three with two wrenches.

Perceptor was unamused by the show of rage his colleague was giving the young ones, but what did surprise him was finding their patient covered in saliva; "Disgusting," he managed with a face that twisted in discomfort, after all, now he will have to clean the flier since Ratchet was busy 'disciplining'.

Just when Perceptor turned around to take a rag and clean their patient, the alarm that monitored the life of the seeker turned on with a loud ringing bell sound that by now Ratchet hated.

"Not again!" Ratchet groaned as he ran to get his instruments out but not before he turned his murderous gaze towards the three dinosaurs. "You! Stay there!" He pointed at them with a menacing finger then turned back swiftly to the dying seeker. "You will not die today, Starscream! You hear me?! You will not die today!" He yelled at her. "Not on me."

…

* * *

She was floating in the nowhere, nothing was painful or pleasurable there, nothing was white or black, everything was so different from what she knew.

Suddenly, something was gently pulling her somewhere... ' _Where is somewhere?_ ' She asked to no one in particular as finally there was something familiar, ' _a door perhaps?'_ But it was pulling her so she could cross it.

' _I don't want to cross that.._.' she trailed off

Out of nowhere everything felt so numb and... _wet_?

' _...Warm and...cold? ...At the same time?'_

Then yelling, muffled yelling, she could not recognize the yelling but decided it was annoying, she needed to get away from it; why was she still here anyway?

As if answering her question, a golden, weak and thin thread appeared holding her wrist to the door, if she wanted to know where it led, crossing the door was necessary.

...But she was not interested, so instead she turned her back to that door because it made her feel weak and tired and started floating to the opposite place instead. The thin thread started to pull her as hard as it could and started to get even thinner.

' _TC, Warp... let me go with you'_

…

* * *

Later, in the morning...

"I still can't believe the Dinobots entered and... eh..." The Prime sounded unsure about what he would say next. "...tried to eat her?"

"Not exactly, Prime," Ratchet answered as he sat on his chair in his office and set both his hands in front of his forehelm. "According to Grimlock, they said they felt 'hungry' after smelling her scent." The medic let out a snort. "I don't know what that means, but I saw them and I think they were trying to..." He trailed off.

"Trying to?" The Prime repeated.

"I really don't know, Optimus, I don't know what passes through those primal processors of those three, it could be anything!"

"Anything like what?"

"Anything like... they really meant to eat her or just... _oh this is disgusting_." The medic muttered more to himself. "...Or just lick her to taste her."

"In what sense could they do that?" The Prime sounded interested about that, why would the Dinobots try to-

Optimus' thoughts were interrupted as well as Ratchet's possible answer when the alarms of the monitors scanning Starscream turned on again with a loud screech, startling the medic who, without another word, ran to his comatose and dying patient _again_.

Ratchet and Perceptor hurried again to her side and started with the reanimation process for the second time that day, if they counted the one after the 'Dinobot' incident. Optimus watched with interest the whole process and Ratchet's curses to the dying seeker. "No, Starscream, you fragging femme! I will not let you die, so you better come back!"

In the end the CMO's curses seemed to work because they were able to stabilize Starscream yet again and once more cover her body up.

Ratchet turned to his Prime leaving Perceptor to put back his tools. "I was not even able to fix her completely yet, especially her-" He was interrupted as the machine's alarms turned on again and the medic turned from Optimus once more to face the seeker; Perceptor was not even able to replace the tools this time.

As the head medic and head scientist worked to bring Starscream back, Optimus Prime could not help but walk towards the bed to see her better.

Hypnotized by her... he couldn't say why, he walked even closer.

The other two busied with her life thread...

Watching one of her hands lying limp and lifeless he couldn't help but reach for it and take it in one of his massive hands; her petite hand was so delicate, so unlike the Air Commander he once knew, tough and strong willed, who would have said that _she_ was so delicate…? And was a _she?_

As he stroked her armour-less hand with his thumb he could not help but think about what he would say to her once she awakened about the help he would need from her.

Suddenly her fingers in her hand twitched, Optimus noticed even if both the CMO and scientist were working with a lot of noise; but then the same hand he was holding tightened its grip on one of his fingers, hard, so hard that the Prime flinched in fear more than in pain.

But that was not all, after that, Optimus Prime's optics widened as he saw how her body was somehow tattooed with some glyphs he could not read, not at all, and said glyphs started glowing.

To his horror, he realized he could not get away from that tight grasp, or move; he was totally paralyzed; to add to his terror, the Matrix started to react as well in his chest and he watched with horror how those glyphs moved and beat at the same rhythm the Matrix was beating to in his chest.

Then, suddenly, as if nothing at all had happened, it stopped, as if he had woken up from a nightmare; she was not grasping his finger or was tattooed with weird shining glyphs he was even still holding her soft petite hand.

"Finally; I hope she stays alive this time." Ratchet huffed putting down one of his instruments that served to stabilize her spark in an unorthodox way, Prime knew, but as long as it kept her alive he would allow the CMO to use it as many times as he believed it necessary.

But then again, all of a sudden, no one noticed the Prime's actions or what suddenly passed through him, the seeker and the Matrix, but _that_ didn't finish with him. In what seemed like astro seconds, the Matrix reacted again in Optimus's chest sending an unpleasant current all over his body, and as if it was Megatron's fusion cannon that was shot at his chest, he was thrown violently against the far opposite wall breaking many instruments and medical berths in his way.

"What in the pit?!" The medic swore. "Optimus!"

"Prime!" Even Perceptor seemed disturbed and surprised.

' _What was that…? What happened?_ ' Was the constant question that surrounded the Prime's mind at the moment the other two mechs reached out for him and settled him back on a medical table; he was too stunned to utter a word. One second he was holding Starscream's hand and the next one he was flying to the other side of the med-bay.

"Perceptor! Cover her body and close the curtains right now!" The CMO barked and Perceptor too shocked to do otherwise, obeyed.

"Sweet Primus! What happened here?" That was First Aid who heard the commotion from the other side of the med-bay while he was attending to Wheeljack since Ratchet was busy with that _something_ he wouldn't say anything about yet. Anyway, that part of the Med-bay was a mess now and their Prime was lying on a medical berth.

"We have everything under control, 'Aid, go." Ratchet started reaching for his instruments to scan the Prime for any injury.

"But..." The apprentice tried.

"I said: _GO!_ " This time the CMO barked at his student who, without another word and fear written all over his face, returned to his earlier work.

"I´m fine, Ratchet, thank you." Optimus was finally able to leave his stupor and speak again.

"I don't think so, Optimus, what was that? What did you do?"

"I... I don't know." The Prime honestly didn't know which gained him a frown from the CMO. There was an awkward silence when Optimus decided to speak again. "I just touched her hand."

Ratchet and Perceptor's optic ridges lifted up looking at their leader; it was then that Perceptor decided to speak: "Go on... what else?"

"I saw her... I saw... glyphs... all over her body!" Optimus panted.

"Glyphs?" Ratchet repeated.

"Yes, glyphs, Ratchet, as if she were tattooed with them." Optimus responded in somehow an angry tone and the CMO frowned.

"Optimus, can you get up?" He waited until the Prime nodded his answer. "Then come here, I want to show you something."

The three mechs walked to where Starscream was lying. There, Ratchet took the sheets from her body. "Look at this, at her protoform skin." The medic mused. "Did you pay attention to my report?" Optimus nodded. "Good, remember the scars I mentioned?" Again, the Prime nodded. "Then, take a look at her body again, Optimus, in detail." Ratchet motioned.

Optimus' optics widened and he couldn't help but trace his fingers along the marks. "What are- scars?"

"Yes, and we don't know where Starscream got them. But we do know that it was not Megatron who caused them because these ones were made when the seeker was a sparkling." Perceptor said.

The Prime just stared at the symbols, they were intricate, complicated and looked painful as they seemed to be carved deeply into her skin. _'Who would do this to a sparkling? Who was so cruel to submit an infant to such trauma?'_

"I know Megatron and the old Warlord is not so versed in symbols, the one who made these was very well versed and somehow made sure his victim didn't move." The words escaped Optimus's vocalizer.

"That's exactly what we thought." Perceptor pointed out. "But please, Prime, explain to us in detail what just happened."

Optimus told them everything, even the Matrix's reaction.

A creepy silence followed after.

…

* * *

**Later that evening...**

**Optimus' personal quarters...**

The Prime sat on his berth, the events from that morning were something that still plagued his processor as he didn't even know how to explain what happened there even to himself, the Matrix and Starscream. He was so focused in those thoughts that he failed to notice his mate entering their chambers.

"Optimus, we need to talk." She was standing in front of his sitting persona on their bed.

"What can I do for you, my spark?"

"Are you sure about what you mean to do to Starscream? Do you really think she will accept it?"

All high officers in the Ark knew of Starscream's dilemma and were ordered to keep silent until their Prime decided otherwise, but with Elita it was different; she was his bonded, she knew of the plans he had for the seeker, knew that the said Vossian would be unhappy about it and that made her upset with her mate. Different from the other officers, she knew what he was planning, but they didn't, especially about his next target whose unhappiness would be shown mere astro-seconds after the Prime's plan left his vocalizer.

"Eventually she will." Was his answer.

"Eventually?" She repeated. "Eventually is not an option, Optimus, not if sh-"

"She will, my spark," He interrupted her. "Something tells me she will and everybody will be happy as you want to see it as happens in those human's fairy tales you always read." He didn't mean to sound rude or arrogant, but he did.

Elita's optic's widened and her fists clenched, but she calmed herself and continued. "What about u-?" However she was interrupted again.

"Will accept as well."

"But is your b-!" She tried again but he interrupted her again.

"Everything will be alright, I know, there are other things that worry me more than the possible capriciousness of Starscream; it is my choice, or if I leave her to her will, she might never do it. After all, it is her duty. It is the least she can do."

"No, it is not." She frowned then turned and left.

"Elita? ...Elita! Wait!" He tried but she left so he sat back on their berth sighing. ' _What did I do now?_ ' he asked himself.

But anyway, ignoring his mate's outburst and since no Decepticon activity was reported in days leading into months he would need Starscream's help in getting the codes to access the Nemesis and also the Space Bridge to see the situation Cybertron found itself in.

"She will do it," He said that to himself. "I know she will."

…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .. what you think of Optimus? I will definitely love to read your opinions in the matter XD


	11. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.  
> Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, several character death.

**Chapter Eight**

**Earlier in the morning...**

Starscream stirred in her spot feeling quite comfortable and warm, it felt so good and safe that she really didn't want to leave it, but her systems as usual started their reboot forcing her to online.

"It seems you're onlining," An elder mech's voice was heard, his tone gentle and calmed and so close to her, it was as if she was...

Onlining her optics fully before her processor could focus properly, she found herself in last night's old shuttle's arms.

"Oh don't worry, little Star, I will not hurt you, you must be hungry." He started noticing her face of alarm. A few seconds after the old mech said that, he took some kind of feeding tube from his chest and offered it to her, putting it in front of her face.

Starscream knew what it was since she saw the same kind of thing from that mech and those twins, but she was no newborn sparkling to feed from an adult, she could manage to drink her own energon! When she opened her mouth to tell the shuttle that, the elder took the opportunity to thrust his tube into her mouth and sweet energon started pouring from its end gently; it was so sweet that it made Starscream's cheeks flush and her optics dimmed as she couldn't refuse the energon anymore.

Smiling softly at his adoptive creation, Skyfall decided to go for a walk and check on his creations and grand creations.

…

* * *

**Lab number four...**

**Before that morning, earlier in the night...**

"So, you found a seeker sparkling in the garbage, a _femme_ seeker sparkling, alone and you brought her home, fed her and she tried to attack you?" A red and white shuttle finished with a datapad that he was holding in his hand and was looking at his creation with incredulous optics.

Skyfire bent his head even if his optics never left his carrier's ones.

Taking another look at the datapad, the elder looked once again to his son. "And according to this... this sparkling was sexually abused?" His tone said it all, he needed to see the proof that Skyfire was talking about.

"It can't be," This time another mech who was silver with blue hands and legs answered. "I've heard of seekers and how they look after their young, they would never allow anyone to commit such an atrocity."

"It's true, carrier, sire, I checked her myself," Skyfire answered. "And she didn't try to attack me, she... just threatened me, but didn't, as if she was fighting something."

"Where is this seekerlet now? We want to see her." The silver and blue mech said.

"Grand-sire took her with him." Skyfire answered. "But please! Don't ask her about it, it makes her feel bad... I think someone in her family did this to her and she flew away."

"Your grand-sire took her?!" The red and white shuttle shouted ignoring his creation's last comment.

"What's the matter with that, 'Noon?" His mate questioned as one of his optic's ridges lifted.

"My sire…! I doubt he will let her go, he was always jealous of little sparklings!" He vented. "Just remember how he was with Jetfire and Skyfire!" He said as his mate didn't seem to remember that important fact.

"Ah... hmmm... oops... well... we will have to take her from him then." The same silver mech said not really believing his own words as his mate looked at him with a scowl.

"Or you can trust my report." Skyfire said then ducked his head as both his creators frowned at him for talking without permission.

Jetfire rolled his optics and vented a huff before asking permission to speak. "I believe in Skyfire, I've seen the way she reacts to those personal questions and if indeed it is true that she was raped and has scars all over her body, she will not want to speak about it or she will break more than she already has; it took us days before she started trusting us and even more before she started to speak. So tell me now, carrier, sire, if that is not the profile of someone who suffered abuse recently?"

"Maybe, but if we don't speak about it she will remain in denial and her wounds will stay open as they will never be able heal." His sire answered.

"There are wounds that may never heal, sire." Jetfire almost growled. "But that doesn't mean that you or anybody has the right to experiment with that; remember that that was the reason we left Crystal City, because of arrogant scientists and psychologists that believed they could make anything and anyone the subjects of their experiments."

Both elders couldn't say anything about that remark; a knot forming tightly in their throats.

"She will heal eventually," Skyfire said not even caring about asking for permission to speak. "We can help her, there's a reason why I found her, she only needs love and affection... She doesn't need to remember what happened in her house with her family, we can be her family, besides, she seems to be very smart for her age."

Ignoring the fact that his creation again didn't ask for permission, the red and white shuttle took a look at the report once more. "Yes, it seems like... very young and smart, knows how to read and write already?" Skyfire nodded. "And she's around her sixth year of age..." He trailed off.

"I'm requesting that you test her, carrier." Skyfire said smiling. "None of us were ever able to do so much at such young age and I believe she started sooner."

"Very well, we will test her, but tomorrow, I think your grand-sire will want to recharge now and will want that sparkling with him."

…

* * *

**Back to that morning...**

An old shuttle carried a little sparkling in his arms with a big smile pasted on his face and all the love and affection he could show to the little thing as this one kept drinking from his energon. He was walking through the passages looking for something, or better said, someone. When he found his objective he directed himself to them: "Skynoon! Silvercloud!"

Both mechs flinched as their designations were given with that booming voice of the elder, especially Skynoon because he hated his designation and showed it by the involuntary twitching of his right optic.

"Sire..." Replied Skynoon between gritted denta.

"Ah, don't be like that, Skynoon, your carrier loved that designation for you and it suits you well." The elder said.

"I can deduce you're not here to discuss about my designation."

"No, I'm here to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Starscream." He said as he displayed her for them to see, she was still drinking from his energon and that sight shocked both mechs so much that for a moment they just stood frozen with their mouths hanging open.

They didn't know what kind of spell she had casted on the old shuttle, but she had him carrying her and feeding her; even though they were scientists and didn't believe in magic, there were some things that simply had no explanation... or maybe it was because Skyfall always mentioned that he wished for a granddaughter? And he just found her?

"I know what the kids told you about testing this little angel, and I want to take her to med-bay first. When I'm done with her, I'll bring her back to you so you can see her intellect. I'll see you around." He said as he turned on his heels and strode off to the med-bay without even listening to what the others might have to say; apparently he always did that because neither of the two mechs dared to object to him, just looked at each other bemused.

Once Starscream was satisfied, the elder removed the cable from her mouth and rocked her softly until they reached the med-bay.

When the medic was examining her, Skyfall decided to ask her about the wormholes she seemed to have crossed; she answered where and how she found them or, at least, how _they_ had found her as the elder took notes saying that he will go to explore them, but before that that he will leave her in the care of two mechs that will ask her funny questions with funny answers and that she should not be worried about it. So, later he took her back to Skynoon and Silvercloud and he left to explore the area Starscream had identified.

"Sit down little one, let's begin." A red and white mech said; the elder who said he was named 'Skynoon' and who will ask her those funny questions she had been warned about.

…

* * *

"Imposible!" Silvercloud exclaimed as he checked and rechecked the results of her test.

"It is not impossible, sire," Jetfire remarked. "My suggestion? That we start training her and in the near future send her with Skyfire to the academy in Crystal City."

"That would be wise. We will take care of that, and if we can't, I'm sure my sire will." Skynoon added.

"I'll let Skyfire and grand-sire know of this; I'll also tell Star, she will love to know that she is smart." Jetfire said with a smile imagining how happy she would be and how her optics would sparkle in utter joy.

"I think your grand-sire just returned from his study of the wormholes and was successful because I think I hear him singing." Silvercloud said.

Jetfire and Skynoon looked at each other and shrugged it off. If Skyfall was happy, then they will be happy for sure.

…

* * *

"This seems to be the boring part of the story," Megatron snarled as he angrily turned the pages of the diary looking for something that might catch his interest. "...I'm not interested in the way he or she interacted with _shuttles_."

As he kept turning and turning the pages, skipping the ' _boring_ ' parts he could not help but read little pieces of them; it seemed that Starscream and those shuttles were investigating other possible sources of energon since one of the shuttles predicted that someday the energon will be scarce on Cybertron and would probably lead to a war that would cause misery to the whole planet. Starscream seemed to have been working on an energon converter that would be able to transform certain kinds of energy into energon; the purer the type of energy, the purer the energon; but unluckily she was unsuccessful and was dragged along with her partner Skyfire to explore other worlds.

According to his reading, the old shuttle, Skyfall, was the real creator of the space gates and warp gates and that some scientists back at Crystal City tried to take the credit themselves for his inventions and to use his technology for who knew what purpose. But the shuttles kept all the knowledge they possessed jealously in their fortress in the mountains, sharing their discoveries with no one but themselves... and Starscream.

"Now I'm curious, I want to know what happened to that fortress my seeker is talking about because I don't remember ever seeing one in the mountains and I know the mountains very well." He continued to turn the digital pages trying to find an answer to his questions, but what he found he really didn't like it at all.

" _WHAT?!_ " He barked as he took in her words, he could not believe it.

...

* * *

**The diary chanted:**

_I really can't believe my bad luck, first when Sky and I joined the Science Academy we were treated as pariahs, then when we were given another mission to research energon on other worlds I lose Skyfire, my best friend, my big brother..._

_...and now what? The same scientist that claimed that my family make unthinkable things in our safe fortress are the same ones who are attacking it; I don't know from where they got the resources to hire assassins and kill every living being in here so they could steal all our research that with sweat, blood and tears we gathered for the welfare of our society._

_Their society!_

_I can't even request or ask for help to save Skyfire from that faraway planet because in my spark I know he still lives, he's much stronger than what others believe._

_But what can I do besides flying away? My elder brother Jetfire... he make me protect their research..._

_...what a horrible surprise I got after I returned home to get some help in finding Skyfire... to find my home under attack and being bombed... they were just too many!_

…

* * *

"Jetfire? What's going on?!" Starscream reached one of the secret entrances hidden in the mountains and entered the fortress, looking desperately for her elder brother as she found in her path nothing but ruins and the dead; she was lucky to dodge some assassins that entered the fortress and started killing the remainder of the inhabitants they could find; they were obviously not taking prisoners.

"They want our knowledge!" The young shuttle cried. "They killed them! They killed them all! My sire, my carrier... even my old grand-sire." Tears ran like a cascade down his cheeks as the images he saw overwhelmed his behaviour.

"But I will not let them have it, no; they will not get away with it!" He shouted to the screen that showed more and more assassins entering.

"Star," He turned to her and saw her datapad; hurriedly he took it from her hands to plug it into the computer and started downloading everything in it.

Starscream tried to keep her diary away from him but it was useless as he had already plugged it into the main console, but luckily was not reading it. "What are you doing?!"

"You will keep safe everything we have here, all our work, our life..." A tingling sound made by the console let them know that the download was finished. "And you will live, you will leave here and survive, Star."

"What about you?! I'm not leaving without you!" Tears stained her face and static was heard in her broken voice.

"You have to, you're the only one who has a chance," Jetfire said with a sad smile before adding, "Take good care of Sky." And gave her, her diary back.

" _Sky!_ " She suddenly remembered, "He's-" But was interrupted as he hit a button and she was teleported away from the fortress. "... _Missing_..." She whispered before a loud rumble shook the ground and forced her to cover her receptors as a loud explosion followed. She ran to check and to her horror watched how Jetfire did what he said he would do and activated the self destruction program.

Horror, sickness, sadness, impotence, pain and misery overwhelmed her as she screamed so loud, the name of her fallen brother, that the sound even rattled in her head.

…


	12. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.  
> Warnings: character death, unortodox way of handling 'medicine'... and vampirism.

**Chapter Nine**

_**Following from the last chapter...** _

Starscream was in shock; her family... she just lost her family! The only ones who cared about her and loved her as if she really had a purpose in this world...

The only place she felt she belonged...

...they were gone...

...and Jetfire...

Her big brother... he didn't even give her a last hug knowing that she wouldn't let him go, he died, and with him, another wound was added to her collection.

She had lost everything once again.

Her spark clenched tightly in pain in her chest at the loss and this time she really wanted to die.

The seeker sat on the snow for a while too shocked to do something, _anything_ else as she processed the last hour without realizing that she was crying as she held the only object that accompanied her all this time, all these years...

_...Her diary..._

...And now the only thing that remained from her lost family.

"Please, Primus, be kind and let me die, let me go with them or at least see them one more time." The request was made with such sorrow that if Primus was really listening to her he probably would have granted her wish...

...But he didn't.

And now she cried herself to sleep, too exhausted and emotionally battered to do otherwise.

…

The next morning the sound of engines approaching made the now snow covered Starscream wake up once again. Recognizing danger she hadn't moved and allowed the frozen tears of the heavens to cover her and hide her from the intruders.

Once the engines' noises ceased, she removed the snow from her and as stealthily as she could, she walked away to the next wormhole her adoptive grand-sire carefully hid, telling only the inhabitants of the fortress where it was in case of emergency...

...Too bad that there was an emergency, but still no one had been able to use it.

Looking back in case someone was chasing her or spying on her, she finally jumped into the invisible hole leaving everything behind without a real course yet again, just like when she left Vos...

 _Vos_...

"Why was I thinking about it again?" She thought as she walked along without thinking where her pedes were leading her, remembering the task Jetfire gave her.

"What was he thinking? Why did he think that I, of all the fliers in the universe had a chance of... of..." She released a growl of frustration. "Of what?! I have no chance! They will be after me in no time if they find out that I survived! And even worse…! Even worse if they know that I have everything they want." A whispered whimper filled the path, the sound of her own crying preceding her until she reached the end of it and spotted the light through the fog.

 _-End of reading because of another interruption_ -

...

* * *

**Meanwhile**  
 **The Nemesis...**  
 **Med-bay...**

Hook paced around the two seekers lying on the medical berths, he knew that sooner or later they will have to wake up and it would probably be sooner; the problem was their lack of energon and...

... _Starscream_.

How would the CMO explain to them that their cousin was dead? They would surely not take the news kindly and try to do something foolish.

"I am considering making them sleep for a while longer, but we're out of supplies, especially painkillers... you know, ' _those'_ kind of painkillers." Mixmaster stated with a worried tone, settling next to his brother and noticing the same the CMO had observed.

"Then we will have to improvise," This time it was Scrapper who came in with a cube of energon in hand. "We can't let them do anything stupid, they already did and Star won't be happy if she could see us and see her cousins dead because of a bad decision they had made."

Sighing in frustration, Hook walked to the entrance of the med-bay before turning. "I'm going back there, we need more, and this time I think I'll bring all of it, I can't risk anybody seeing me coming in and out of there anymore."

Scrapper and Mixmaster nodded and turned back to watch over their patients without noticing that Skywarp was slowly onlining and had heard everything; he wanted to see his cousin badly too.

…

* * *

Hook walked through the silent passageways as stealthily as he could; he didn't want to find anyone in his path or to have to give an explanation of why he was out of his med-bay.

Just when he was about to reach Starscream's quarters he heard some pede steps getting closer; "What is he doing out of his chambers too?" The CMO wondered recognizing the owner of such sounds before hiding in a corner and praying to Primus to not let the mech see him or hear him.

The Communications Officer and former Third in Command walked past him without even a single glance towards him before stepping in front of Megatron's chamber door then keying in the codes to enter.

Once the telepath was inside Megatron's chamber, the CMO walked as fast and silently as he could to Starscream's quarters, keyed the door open and rushed inside before locking the door again.

Once inside he rushed over to the secret compartment where Starscream saved her energon and opened it; there was still a lot of energon in there, but he was a big mech and had a very good subspace system. Though he might not be able to take the last two or three cubes with him and would have to leave them behind, but the other hundred he would be able to take back to his med-bay; he already having a space prepared to hide them.

But before he could leave the seeker's quarters he noticed a painting that was just above her berth; it was of deep, cold and dark space with tiny white stars in them; that was it, but it was odd to see it there, it was breath-taking and weird in an ominous sense, as if she wanted to prove that that was how her spark felt... or was. It was kind of creepy.

Hook sighed after touching the black and starry screen. "What the frag?"

…

* * *

"Lord Megatron: the reports of the off-lined mechs aboard the Nemesis, updated."

"Good job, Soundwave," The warlord mused before taking the datapad from his now SIC's hand before reading it with a frown. "Five mechs in the last day?" He questioned his officer with a tired glance.

"Energon reserves: totally drained. Mechs: fighting for any remaining cubes or even draining each other; the humans calls it 'cannibalism'" The blue mech replied watching his leader shudder in disgust at the mention of... it.

"You're dismissed, Soundwave." Megatron waved his hand tiredly as Soundwave bent to salute him before leaving; his visor giving a silent glow as he seemed to watch for a split second the familiar datapad Megatron had been reading almost every day he came in.

…

* * *

Hook frowned as the screen returned to its usual wallpaper once he retrieved his hand. "Five mechs deactivated and I was not told about it?" The situation was strange, and even if he heard that some of the mechs had fallen into emergency stasis for the lack of energon, he had never really heard of death because it took years, even millennia for a mech or femme to die from starvation.

He didn't even cared that Starscream had a monitor to spy on Megatron.

"Cannibalism?" The medic questioned the now SIC's words. "I've never heard of it in our species, besides, drinking another mech's energon blood is dangerous and toxic."

The Constructicon medic could not take in the words that Soundwave had said; maybe that monotone voice hid his feelings and intentions, but it also hid secrets and the truth of the situation. Megatron seemed to be too drained and drunk to care, but he was not and was determined to find out what was happening.

Silently as he entered the seeker's quarters, he left after the telepath, doing his best to keep his mind calmed and quiet so the other would not hear him.

Once he spotted the new SIC he hid in a corner and watched as the other used his override codes to enter Astrotrain's quarters.

Hook could not believe it. "What is he planning to do in there?" He whispered before walking to the door, which was open, and peeked inside before quickly covering his mouth to cover the sound it was about to produce at the sight his optics granted him.

There, on his bed was Astrotrain with his head lolled on one side, casually looking at the open door, his optics bright and widened in silent fright before they started fading in preparation to offline forever.

And that was not the worst of it all; on top of the triplechanger was...

...Soundwave...

His facemask retreated and long, thick tentacles held his victim down as he thrust his pointy fangs into the bigger mech's neck, drinking all of his energon blood from one of his main energon lines without letting one single drop fall.

Astrotrain's body immediately turned a lifeless grey and his screaming optics a disturbing dark before falling limp in the telepath's clutches.

Wide opticed in terror, Hook didn't need to see anymore as he ran for his life as if Unicron himself were chasing after him to the safety of his med-bay; his spark beat harder and even if his subspace was full and that made him heavy, the adrenaline and the sense of utter danger made him run as fast as Starscream used to fly.

Once he spotted the doors of the med-bay he could not help but feel as if someone, possibly Soundwave, was chasing him, but as worried and terrified as he was, the only thing that he wanted to do was cross through those doors and lock them behind him.

When he opened the doors and crossed the threshold, he proceeded to close them and lock them, but before that could happen he spotted a crimson visor looking straight at him and, if his panicked processor hadn't lied to him, the cruel tentacles of the mech squirmed in anger in the dark corner he watched Hook from.

Once the doors were closed and locked, Hook fell on his aft and started hyperventilating, his face a deathly pale colour and his frame trembling in fear.

"What happened?!" Scrapper came to his side with a concerned face trying to lift him up but finding it nearly impossible as Hook was paralyzed. "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

Hook's jaw trembled as he tried to make a sentence but failed. He was so terrified after what he had seen that he needed to process whether it was real or a vile fantasy his processor had given him. The last he doubted because he was not one to believe in fantasies.

"Hook?" His brother tried again watching the horrified optics of the other and started worrying about him; no one had ever seen Hook like that before.

But before Scrapper could try to get his brother's attention once again a loud scream was heard from the bottom of the med-bay.

Not wasting any time, Scrapper ran to see what the matter was and watched his remaining brothers Mixmaster, Bonecrusher, Scavenger and Long Haul hold down a screaming and out of control Skywarp with all their strength; and even if the seeker still seemed to be hurt and not fully recovered, his four brothers seemed to have as much trouble with him as they would if he were fully recovered.

" _No! Star! No! It's his fault! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"_ The seeker yelled trying to get free from their grasp. His intentions were clear as his words.

Scrapper ran to the cabinet where the most powerful painkillers were saved, but once he opened it he found it empty of what they needed. "Frag! We're out of painkillers!" He swore, trying to find a solution that might calm the purple and black seeker. "We have to do something!"

In that moment, Mixmaster released one of Skywarp's arms and took one of Hook's wrenches, hitting the seeker hard on the head and successfully knocking him unconscious again, his frame falling limp in the others' grasp. A huge dent now decorated the back of the dark seeker's helm.

"What the frag happened?!" Scrapper demanded, roughly taking the wrench from Mixmaster's hand.

"Scavenger told Skywarp that Starscream and the Coneheads are dead." Long Haul replied as he placed all the seeker's limbs back into the medical berth.

"What?!" Scrapper barked at the answer before glaring daggers at Scavenger.

Scavenger flinched, "He asked, I just couldn't lie to him."

"Yes you could, you idiot!" Scrapper took a long and deep breath, rubbing his face with his palms. "Go and get Hook to fix that dent in his helm." Then his optics widened, remembering his brother's recent behaviour. "Frag, Hook!" He ran back to the entrance where he found his perfectionist brother still shaking in terror on the floor.

Mixmaster and Scavenger came up behind him, quickly becoming scared at Hook's unnatural behaviour. "Hook? What happened?"

In that moment Hook reacted and took his brother by the shoulders. "We can't leave, too dangerous..." And as if reading his brothers' questioning looks he continued. "Soundwave, he's crazier than we or Starscream thought; he's killing other mechs! He's vampirizing them, draining them of their lives! I've seen him!"

The other three could not take in what he was saying, so he opened their bond and allowed the recent images of what he saw to pass between them.

All of his brothers gasped at the horrible revelations. After all, Starscream always _joked_ that the blue tape deck was a vampire. It was not a joke after all.

"Great! We're trapped with a murderer outside hunting us." Scavenger gave his pessimistic opinion as the other two could only stare at the door wondering why the unpredictable new Second in Command didn't just blow the doors down and kill them all just like he did to those other mechs. "What would we do then? Wait for the Autobots to rescue us? Yeah sure."

"I don't know, but there must be a reason why he's not entering." Once calmed Hook stated. "Somehow I've always felt safe here and here we will remain until we feel it is safe to leave again."

They really had no other choice... or a better idea.

Luckily he brought enough energon with him to last a little while; unluckily it would not last forever, so they must make another choice.

In the end it was decided to force a stasis lock on all but two of them to conserve energon and they quickly began participating in this unspoken decision.

In the cold and silent Nemesis two were chosen by unanimous vote.

"So, Hook and I will stay awake until is safe again." Scrapper voiced the conclusion.  
...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: yeah... vampire Soundwave... I apologize :P


	13. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.  
> Warnings: mentions of a character's death and past abuse.

**Chapter Ten**

_Dear diary:_

_What?_

_How did I get in here.._.?

_I had nowhere else to go but_ _**there** _ _to spend the night and I truly hate it; bad memories surround me with each step I take..._

_My little brother and I running through these spacious halls..._

_... My little brother being brutally murdered in these spacious halls..._

_It's so cold in here, as if ghosts have been the only inhabitants during these last few vorns, and that's what I feel and see; ghosts of the past haunting the one who dared to step pede in this place after it was abandoned and they took charge._

_I hear screaming though I positively know there is no one here. I hear a sparkling cry, an adult mech scream, a femme beg for her life... I can't help but want to cry and sit in a corner; my wings quiver, because of the cold or fear; I don't know..._

_..._

* * *

Surprise would have been her first emotion once the end of the wormhole was reached and her optics set on the city in front of her.

' _ **Vos?!**_ '

'Why in the universe would the wormhole bring me back to... here?'

Optics widening, frame stiffening and wings trembling slightly; it was as if Primus or the universe was telling her that this was the last place she could go, the only place _to_ go.

She really hadn't wanted to ever go back for the rest of her existence; but here she was. The place she was not supposed to return after her uncle, the Winglord, had banished her.

Shaking off her stupor she decided to enter the city remembering what the guard had told her at the time.

"Halt! Who's there?!" One of the city's guards demanded and she turned, recognizing him instantly.

The guard inhaled sharply as he watched her empty optics, the same empty optics he once was forced to banish as all he could do was watch as she continued slowly flying without a real place to go.

"What's going on?" The other guard asked before also noticing her and identifying her.

None of them did anything else but bow their heads at her and flying out of her path; it was her right after all, to return and claim what was rightfully hers, and they would not warn the Winglord; what he did was unfair and cruel; they will tell all the other guards, but not him, it was her right to have her revenge on him.

"It is an honour to see you again, highness." One of the guards said before the two of them crossed in the air and saluted her.

She barely acknowledged any of them as she simply continued with her flight.

No one dared to stop her, not that everyone knew her now of course, but what alarmed her was to find it still proudly standing, still saluting the Cybertronian sun, the same place she suffered so much, the same place she was when the last ounce of her innocence was taken for the welfare of her beloved cousins...

...Her tower, the place she didn't dare to call _home._

As a magnet it still held some kind of energy, of power over her, it dragged her towards it before she even realized what she was doing.

When she recovered her consciousness she found herself already in the dreadful place and noticed that not much, if anything, had changed; but then not many, if any, seekers at all flew by it or even anywhere near it. It was as if such place was cursed and they needed to stay away from it and ignore the dark blot against the sky's existence.

After all, everybody in Vos knew what once happened in there, the cruel tower.

Suddenly she felt dazed and to her horror she started hallucinating.

" _Daddy? Daddy don't,_ _ **Daddy, don't**_ _!"_

" _This is what you get for daring to defy me, look what you did to your brother!_ _ **Look at him!**_ _This is all your fault!"_

" _Sunstorm?" A little whisper of sorrow before a kicking sound was heard and then the small voice screamed in agony._

Starscream watched for a second time how her sire carried her lifeless brother's body and took it away somewhere and for the first time she followed him as she listened to her young self cry for her little brother.

_Her sire walked down the stairs long before reaching his destination, the main power reactor room, it was the machine that powered the entire tower. Nightscream opened a little gate with a hole which was the burning colour of the living pit itself and dropped Sunstorm's body into it._

_The fires of the reactor consumed his little body in seconds._

Starscream didn't notice she was screaming as the illusion continued and her sire watched his son being destroyed with huge satisfaction; she couldn't see anything anymore, nor even remain another second in that accursed tower as she found the first exit she could and flew out and away as far as she could from the cold place.

But now she was presented with a problem, she had nowhere else to go and absolutely refused to stay in that tower which had reactivated vividly painful and long forgotten memories.

Maybe she could ask her uncle, Sunblaze, why he hadn't kept his word and it was still standing.

Sunblaze, the Winglord...

She had lots of questions he needed to answer, for his own good.

…

* * *

Entering the royal tower was easier than she would have thought; no one stopped her or said another word to her that was not, 'Your Highness, welcome back.'

She easily found the throne room and her uncle and with a hard kick the great doors flew open, revealing the individuals in there; he was in a meeting with the high members of the main families, the four leaders of the four families that lead Vos with the Winglord.

With deep burning optics and contained hate, she growled at him: "Why?"

"Your Royal Highness," one of the members greeted her. "It is good to see you back in Vos."

She just glared at the one talking with an intense loathing, making him flinch and shut his mouth. "Everybody, out... OUT **!** " She growled menacingly before shooting at them with so much force that they didn't hesitate to raise their afts from their chairs and hurriedly walk out; the door closing behind them all with a clanging echo.

"You..." She snarled before striding towards him.

"Starscream, it is good to see you've survived." He lifted his head before looking at her from helm to pede, appreciating and approving her freshly gained strength.

"No thanks to you."

"I know, and... I'm not happy about it."

"How could you…? How could you do that to me?! To a defenceless sparkling who was just... just... how could you? You disgusting bastard!"

Sunblaze didn't answer; he knew what he did and all these years it had weighed heavily on his spark, the hard decision he had made. And even if his own people didn't criticize him out loud, they indeed hated him for what he did to his abused niece.

Instead of helping her, he banished her...

...And all his people made a silent oath that if the princess survived and someday returned they would not stop her and even would let her take the throne, even banish the current Winglord, whatever she liked.

She continued barking questions at him, shocking him out of his trance. "You always knew! You knew! Why, you fragging coward, didn't you do anything?!"

Starscream breathed heavily. "I think I know... after all this time, the answer comes to me..." Her spark clenched in pain in her chest. "The reason you banished me from Vos, the reason you never did anything against your brother, even when you knew what he was doing with his family... Of course... He wanted to be the only one, the only heir to the throne of Vos and desired no one being able to challenge him for it... and I was a possible problem; but _my uncle_ doesn't know me, I don't care about your place... Your disgusting throne!"

Those words made Sunblaze flinch and lift his gaze once again towards her with a sad and surprised expression.

"I just want to live in peace... I don't care anymore... I have my answer." Refusing to set her hand on her chest where her spark hurt, she looked once more to the Winglord. "I don't care anymore; I'm tired of everything, of losing everything."

Sunblaze frowned trying to take in her words.

"I'm tired... so tired, just, leave me alone." Feeling quite drained after her sudden, but short, outburst, she turned on her heels and just… walked away.

"Starscream... I-" Sunblaze tried.

"Just...! ...Just leave me alone, OK?"

…

* * *

Honestly, Sunblaze couldn't believe what had just happened; after all these years, all the things he did to her in a single day before banishing her, he had at least hoped that she, if she returned at all, would come to kill him, take the throne and do who knows what with the power that came with it.

After all, she was the last heir of their tower and the last heir to the throne of Vos if the other leaders of the families didn't say otherwise.

Thinking about that, none of them seemed to be interested at all in said throne and seemed very interested in her return. It had to be because of what a servant had once told him that every Vossian believed that the status was cursed; everybody wanted to be around it, but no one wished to be in it or too close or they might become doomed themselves.

Turning his spiralling thoughts back to the scene his niece had just made, he watched her walk away. _Where is she going?_

He lifted himself from the chair and rushed after her. "Starscream, wait!"

...

* * *

Starscream for her part didn't break her stride, not listening in the slightest to what he was saying, or trying not to as the only thing in her processor was the growing desire to reach a silent and dark place to finally be able to rest without interruptions; she felt so tired and there was only one place in this tower and in all of Vos with that description.

'… _Tired, sick, sad, weak..._

… _The perfect place to hide all those feelings is-'_

"Starscream, please, listen to me." Sunblaze reached for her as she descended the long and almost infinite stairs. "This is important, you have to listen-"

"NO! _You_ have to listen, leave me alone, _uncle_ , that's all I ask, that's all I need, prove yourself capable of doing a simple task for once!"

"I'm sorry, OK? I'm sorry for being a total aft that day! But I was-"

"Shut up! I don't _care_! It is in the past! This is the present day, so when I tell you 'leave me alone' you leave. Me. Alone. In order to fix all the crap you did to me once, you must _obey_!"

It was obvious to any sentient being that she was not there to listen to his excuses or apologies, even less to take the throne or to kill him; so, for once, Sunblaze decided to do as she asked. He was still indebted to her and until she was willing to listen and to talk he would not push her.

The Winglord didn't know everything she had gone through all these years, all alone, but if she said she was _tired_ then it could be assumed her life had not been easy, and he blamed himself for it because it was his fault and he had had to learn that the hard way...

...By losing every member of his family.

First they blamed him for what he did to her, and then they started getting ill and dying. His beloved mate told him that it was a curse cast on them by Primus himself because of his actions, not his insane brother's spells and curses. His behaviour was something bigger, something even worse, and it had a lot to do with the payment exacted for what he did to an innocent being.

' _An innocent being that gave up everything in order to save the ones she cared for the most and was punished by it as if what she did was a cowardly act against her sire._ '

"What did I do? She was innocent, she _IS_ innocent, it was my fault for being a coward and not protecting her..."

Those words had become the Winglord's mantra over the past few years as prayed that his niece had survived and would return someday to take what was rightfully hers... and to hear his apologies.

He couldn't go after her; not after banishing her... She had to return on her own.

...and finally she did.

...

* * *

Starscream finally reached her destination; the deep and buried ancient dungeons deep down in the royal tower.

Several guards tried to stop her, but she only ordered them to open the gates so she could enter; in the end she chose a room -the darkest and silent one- and entered before closing the door quietly after her.

She knew how the guards should have looked at her, but still she continued, she needed this darkness, this silence... To meditate, to dream, to sleep... to finally be able to recharge and if she was lucky...

...To die.

...


	14. Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story... and Sunblaze.  
> Warnings: languaje

**Chapter Eleven**

_Dear diary:_

_It's been so song since the last time I had a dream; no one knows but I never really sleepsince that day when I saw myself forced to invoke that spirit; it haunts me day and night especially in my dreams when I'm the most vulnerable._

_But last night was different; I can't tell if it was out of tiredness or because I didn't care about anything anymore, but last night I dreamt..._

_I'm so tired, I just want to sleep and that's what I will do; I once heard about a quiet place in Vos, it is the subterranean cells, long ago used for prisoners... and now it will be the place I shall rest. I need silence; I need darkness so my optics will offline..._

_...So my receptors will not receive._

… _But there is a problem..._

 _Uncle, please leave me alone._  
...

* * *

The night... The day... It hadn't mattered for Starscream as she lay in an almost vegetative state on the relatively soft berth of the dark brig she found herself in.

The days, seconds, hours, minutes didn't matter either as she slept so deeply that sometimes the guards and even the Winglord believed the little femme had passed away into a better life.

But that was not the case. Sunblaze knew; his niece was under severe stress in the entirety of her life and had decided she wanted to sleep it out, making it clear that she didn't want to be disturbed... Several times.

But Sunblaze was insistent and came at least twice each the day to check on her and tell her how much he was sorry about what he did, that he regretted it every day since that fateful hour and that she was the next Winglord in line and had duties to fulfil.

But she ignored him the best she could until she considered him too annoying and literally kicked him out of her cell before closing the door after her and burying herself in her blankets before falling asleep again...

...And dreaming...

...Dreaming.

It was so long since the last time she had slept to dream, especially after that spell that invoked the spirit which sharpened her senses and even, she believed, made her hallucinate, hearing voices and on the worst occasions seeing the shadows moving and looking at her in a threatening way. Starscream believed it was because said entities did not like to be seen... And if you could see _them_ , they could see _you_.

It was also one of the reasons she joined the Science Academy with Skyfire... to see logic and reason, to forget about this things that were considered impossible for science as well as nonexistent. Burying herself in science and her projects helped her to forget for a moment her curse...

...just for little moments until she looked away from her work to see _them_ once again.

But the silence and lack of any current of air or light in the cell she now inhabited made it impossible to stare at _them_. Nothing worked as a disturbing method, not even her own breath as not even the shadows moved... In other words the place was a tomb, a tomb she liked as not even the ' _characteristic seeker's claustrophobia_ ' seemed to annoy her there.

Grasping her pillow tightly against her helm she groaned as the heeled steps of the Winglord could be heard again; it was the third time this day he had come to visit her! He obviously wanted her to replace him and wanted it now since it was the first time he had come to her more than twice.

As predicted the rusted hinges sounded before-

"Starscream!"

The covered seeker growled in annoyance.

"Get up! You're not dead or ill, come on, we have work to do."

Sunblaze frowned as the only response he got was a muffled snarl and his niece tightening her hold on the covers and hardening her position on the berth.

"Get up-!" He marched up to her berth and grabbed the covers, pulling at them roughly in an attempt to make her get up, but the only thing he gained was Starscream wrestling with him to retain her safe cocoon.

Luckily for him she was so weak after not refuelling for several days, not even after he had ordered the servants to give her energon for her sustenance, as she refused to take anything as she rested in her self-condemned dungeon.

Two guards watched in amusement as their Winglord and his heir wrestled for the covers until finally, Sunblaze, the stronger one, made her fall from the berth with the blankets still cocooning her in the majority.

But Sunblaze didn't stop there, taking this as an opportunity he took his niece in arms -covers included- and walked away from the brig as fast as he could; this place was getting on his nerves and worsening his feeling of claustrophobia. The two guards following suit.

"What are you doing?! Leave me alone! I don't give a slag about what you want!" She protested weakly trying to get free from his grasp.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, you have your duties and you will fulfil them as the heir of Vos' throne."

"Frag you! Leave me alone! I don't give a slag about the throne, it can go frag itself! Leave. Me. Alone!" She wriggled, trying to get free and return to her dark, quiet and calm sanctuary.

"I know you don't really mean what you say, that you care, that is the reason Primus brought you back-"

"I RETURNED BECAUSE I HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO! NOW, PUT ME DOWN! _ **"**_ She screamed without results as they finally reached the surface and Starscream had to cover her suddenly exposed optics after so many days in the dark and muttered another curse for the Winglord.

Ignoring her, Sunblaze addressed himself to his servant, "Is everything prepared? I'm going to take her there right now."

"Yes sir, this way please." The servant answered and they followed him.

They soon came to a sudden stop, and Sunblaze spoke again. "Cover the windows, her optics are sensitized after too much time down there." Then he set her down gently. "Starscream, you better let go of those covers or I will have to cut them from you."

His voice was so stern that her head popped from her protective cocoon to look at him with utter loathing. "I hate you!" She whispered with all the venom she could gather.

"I deserve it," He simply answered before continuing. "These people will look after you, will polish you and feed you, please, be nice to them and let them do their job."

All the servants present bowed their heads and kept them down and she could feel the air of remorse in the ambience; they all regretted what had happened to her, regretted their cowardice at not having acted in time or at least stopping their monarch.

With a last hateful glare at her uncle and a growl she turned from him and allowed the servants to take the blanket and remove her armour before guiding her into a big bubbling tub and starting to attend her whole body.

Sunblaze watched the moment her armour was removed. She did not just have two layers -which was odd- but what really struck him were the numerous and intricate scars that covered her soft protoform skin across all of her body.

Feeling even worse about himself, the Winglord turned and left his niece alone with the servants.  
…

* * *

Hours later after the servants had finished their work cleaning Starscream's body, polishing her protoform skin, her armour, giving her a massage and forcing her to refuel by injecting an energon feeder into one of her main veins, she was finally released looking like the royalty she really was.

The Winglord approved by nodding his head once and all the servants left. "Please, come, follow me, Starscream."

Starscream just rolled her optics and turned to go back to her dungeon before Sunblaze spoke again. "Please."

"Why should I listen to you? Why should I take the throne and take care of a city that didn't care in the slightest for me before? Why should I care for its citizens when they clearly had none for me? And obviously still feel exactly the same about me now as they always have done." Her voice rose in volume with every word. "Just because I must?! Because I was born into 'royalty'?! Aw, come on! Leave me alone!"

"Please, Starscream-"

"NO-! **"**

"YOU'RE THE HEIR!" He barked finally losing his patience. "You and no one else, not even my creations, no one else but you!"

"Because you said so? Or because the families said so?"

The Winglord sighed and held the bridge of his nose as he offlined his optics, trying hard to find the correct answer for his niece. "Both, and the people of Vos, even Primus wants you to be a monarch. Give it a chance, please, you have nothing to lose." He begged.

Starscream frowned. "Don't I?"

Sunblaze looked at the ceiling before catching her optics again. "I beg for your forgiveness, Starscream, me and the whole city, but as you said, it is in the past and I know you will be a good ruler, I don't know how to apologize-"

"Nah, nah, stop it, I've heard that for the past... few days, so please save it." She lifted her hand and set her sights down on the ground, not really wishing to hear more from him. "I am not a leader, people don't follow me or listen to me, no one respects me or-" She stated quite grimly before her uncle interrupted her.

"You just need to learn some diplomacy... it is not difficult and I can teach you," He smiled fondly. "Just... give it a try."

Seeing that she was getting nowhere with her uncle and rolling her optics in annoyance-because the older mech was right and she did truly have nothing to lose- because Sunblaze was too persistent- she sighed and said that she would give it a try.

"Good!" The Winglord clasped his hands together as if knowing that that was going to be her answer. "You will need only two things before we start and I already went ahead with them." Seeing her dumbfounded and confused face, he explained. "For your trine-mates and another trine that will serve you as bodyguards."

Starscream's optics widened at those statements.  
…

* * *

To say that in Vos it was rare to see a femme become something else other than a breeder was a drastic understatement. Since femmes were uncommon in their race they were highly appreciated and valued, cared for and sought after. This state of affairs made most of them become single-minded, hoping only to find a suitable mate that would fulfil every one of her whims and to produce as many sparklings with her mate as her matrix could handle.

Her mother and herself were a strange case but then her sire was not a normal mech either in not treating them as the rest of Vossian society thought they deserved as rare and prized treasures.

Starscream was not a normal femme either and not just because of her past but her intelligence that set her at the level of a mech; obviously she was not going to wait for her uncle to find her suitors and mates so she could bond and do nothing with her life but be lazy all day; the simple thought of it made her shudder.

"Star?" She turned around as her train of thought was interrupted to see the newcomers. "Is that you?"

"Warp? ...TC?" Her hand was pressing hard against her chest as she recognized her cousins and her spark gave a jolt of joy when she realized that this time she was not hallucinating.

"Star!" They both jumped and ran to her location before embracing her tightly, never wanting to let go again; tears of delight ran down from their optics as babbled about how much they had missed each other.

Sunblaze watched the emotional reunion of his niece and her cousins before nodding and walking up to them. "I knew I made a good choice in bringing you here, so, I'll get right to business since we don't have time to waste. You will be Starscream's trine-mates-" Skywarp yipped in excitement as he hugged his cousin tighter. "-And will train together as it must be done; I also want to introduce you to your bodyguards." He snapped his fingers and three coneheaded mechs walked in respectfully, their frames bending as they knelt down on one knee without glancing up.

Noticing their faces and that they were about to protest, he continued. "It is tradition for the Winglord to have bodyguards besides his or her trine-mates."  
…

* * *

The 'training' Sunblaze had meant was hard, harsher even than the learning process she had had to suffer through in the Science Academy. He was strict and allowed no mistakes from his 'students'. When the day was over she had barely any energy left to write in her diary and explain how much her neck hurt or how much Sunblaze had barked at her because she hadn't walked straight enough. Even her cousins were tired and- as in her case- had little strength left to complain and so simply obeyed automatically.

Starscream reached one conclusion during this time. "Being a Winglord is hard, you need to know everything about diplomacy, about what is going on even in the deepest reaches of your city-estate, attend parties, remember everybody's names and the location of their towers, their families and their activities, just... everything! And all that isn't even taking into account the battle training in the old War Academy for fliers and all those moves and- even my own processor is tired; I guess in the end I will get used to it though, right Warp?"

An almost inaudible snore was heard from the bed next to hers; her poor cousin was totally exhausted. "Well, at least I'm not alone in my training... if only for battle." She sighed.

"You should be recharging, highness," One of her bodyguards was watching her quite tiredly, after all, it was not just her and her trine that were training, it was her guardians too. "Tomorrow will be a long day."

"Indeed, thank you, Ramjet." She mused as she prepared for recharge, ignoring the way he bent his head to the side and the deep flush that filled his face.  
…

* * *

Today was one of those few days that the protocol allowed her to relax a little and recover her processor after the intense training she had had to endure. Skywarp and Thundercracker decided that their berths were far too seductive for them to leave them and went to sleep off the day to see if that way they would recover.

So, she was on her own in the Royal Tower, wandering here and there for the first time in her life and noticing all the remarkable pieces of art that the marble halls possessed. Everything awed her; everything was so beautiful that she was unable to pick a favourite piece.

Chewing on her energon treat, she kept walking as she did not desire to be found by her bodyguards- that were most definitely looking for her- this day was hers, so she would spend it all by herself.

" _ABSOLUTELY NOT!_ "

Starscream jumped at the incredible power of the Winglord's voice; something must have upset him badly for him to react that way; his mighty but deep scream was so potent that it caused some of the crystal chandeliers, outside the room that he and someone else were speaking in, to shake.

"Who is in there with him?" Starscream wondered to herself as she walked closer to the big doors in order to hear better, not noticing the two large grounder mechs hiding in the shadows staring at her.

" _GET THE FRAG OUT!_ " The Winglord shouted, enraged.

" _You don't know what you're doing-"_ Another voice, one far deeper than her uncle's.

" _You don't fragging dare to tell me how to handle the situation! Now, GET OUT! I would rather make a deal with them if that is the price you're giving me!"_

" _You will regret this decision, Winglord,"_ The other voice sounded far calmer than the Winglord's but it held a threatening tone that made Starscream shiver.

" _GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY CITY!_ " An object was heard landing on the ground and shattering before the huge doors were opened and the unknown mech strode out.

"This is not over yet, _Sunblaze._ " Starscream noted the big grey mech's lack of education as he ignorantly and disrespectfully stated the Winglord's name before he turned from the seeker and proceeded to walk away before...

"Oh!" The big brute grounder exclaimed as he spotted her a few paces in front of him and from the expression on his face she knew that he liked what he was seeing.

It was creepy, disgusting and it made her feel... filthy. She wanted that mech to stop looking at her; but all she could do was look at him with her big, still innocent, optics.

"Hello..." He started towards her but Sunblaze appeared and stood in front of her protectively; his wings expanding in a way of making him look bigger and to cover her from the grounder's perverted sight, successfully stopping the intruder.

"I said: _get out!_ " Sunblaze repeated in a menacing tone and all the royal guards- including Starscream's own bodyguards now... -yes, they had finally found her- were surrounding them and pointing their weapons at the intruders- Starscream abruptly noticing the larger mech's own entourage leaving the shadows and standing stiffly behind him- before they thankfully proceeded to leave as ordered.

The three mechs were escorted by the royal guard to make sure they left the city.

Sunblaze turned to Starscream; anger still boiling through his veins, but even then he didn't intimidate her. "What are you doing here?! Why are you not sleeping through your day off as a normal seeker preparing to become Winglord would do?"

"Who was that mech? What did he want?" Ignoring her uncle's demands, she questioned him instead.

The Winglord's optics frowned. "No one."

"As future Winglord it is my right to know who he is and what he was trying to achieve by coming here."

Sunblaze sighed before gesturing her to follow him as he started to talk. "His name is Megatron; he said that a _revolution_ is coming."

She inhaled sharply, remembering what one of her friends in the fortress had told her about a war because of lack of energon or something... Which was why she was working on the neglected project of an energon converter... And the reason she and Skyfire...

"And he wants us, the seekers, to join him; to be his air force against the tyranny of the very much corrupted Autobot Council. Honestly, I don't want to force my seekers, my people into war, even though the Council raised the price of the energon and it seems so unfair..."

He sighed again before continuing. "Please promise me that you will not involve our people in this, and that you, yourself, will not get entangled in this, please?"

Her uncle seemed so desperate, so upset and confused; so anxious that it made her take pity on him. "I promise..."

Relief was written all over his body at her answer before he assumed his 'strict mode' again and noticed something as well. "Where are your bodyguards? Is their job to follow you-...!"

' _Oh no, here we go again.'_ She thought rolling her optics at another speech by the monarch.

…


	15. Interlude 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: none.

_**Interlude 3** _

Starscream didn't know how long she floated in the dark, 'or was it light?' blissful nothingness, just that all of a sudden, the little thread was pulling at her wrist insistently and she considered removing it or cutting it.

"My Winglord!"

She turned on her heel to find herself back in Vos, in the royal tower, everything seemed so shiny and clean... it was so long since the last time she had seen the main building in her native city.

"Ramjet?" She whispered lazily and when she noticed her frame, she saw she was wearing a golden cape and the crest of her family emblazoned on a big seal rested on her cockpit; she also noticed something on her head, a crown. The royal crown of the chosen Winglord, made to look like feathers so as to simulate a golden laurel crown. "What...? What is this? What's happening?"

"My Winglord," He knelt in front of her, took her petite armoured hand in his and kissed the back of it before putting it to his forehelm.

"Ramjet?" The designation he gave her seemed somehow awkward for the femme even when voiced in private or in front of their compatriots he gave her, her royal designation in the past in the Nemesis, where no one could hear. After all, she didn't want anyone to know about that part of her life, it was too dangerous.

But Ramjet always treated her with respect, even if she ordered him to pretend she was just another soldier to not arouse suspicions.

"My Winglord, you have to go back." He said still on his knees.

What was the right word? Oh yes. "Arise, Ramjet, look at me." He did, both pairs of crimson optics looked at each other. "I can't, I won't... I have nothing left to return to." She said bowing down her head, her voice breaking before she started sobbing.

"Yes you do, Star." he said with all the respect he could muster to his monarch and took her chin so he could lift her face until their gazes met again. "They are not dead; they are still alive, but very weak. You need to get to them in time if you want them to survive."

Starscream's optics widened at that sentence. "But I saw..."

"All that matters is that they live and they need you now more than ever, Star." He cupped her face and wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

"Oh Ramjet! What about you and your brothers?" A new wave of tears ran down her face.

"We are OK now; we will be watching over you with Primus in the Well of Allsparks and waiting for the three of you to join us all, someday, a long time after this." He said kindly, again rubbing away her tears and leaning in to kiss her forehelm.

"Ramjet..." She tried gently; after all, she could never join them with Primus in the Well, not after what she had invoked.

"Go now, my Winglord, a new world awaits..." He bitterly half-laughed. "I've always wanted to say that." He smiled sadly and made her smile sadly too. "Too bad that I was too much of a coward to court you in the past, when I had the chance."

She watched him with wide optics and cast her gaze down again with a soft but sorrowful expression, unable to say anything.

"Promise me you'll live, it would break my spark to know that you..." He trailed off tipping her head up once again and removing her tears. "You're not alone, Star, not anymore; I would never leave you knowing you that you needed someone. I'll be here for you, Star, because I love you and I always did." He said as hurriedly as he could as if bearing the contents of his spark before she had a chance to reject him.

She gave him a sympathetic look and a gentle, forlorn smile. "It is normal to feel that for your monarch."

"It is more than that, Star, it always was. Even Dirge and Thrust knew that I love you." He repeated once again looking straight into her optics. "I would never abandon you; I would never forgive myself if I did that. I can't even forgive myself for the fact that I can't be with you anymore."

"Ramjet, I..."

"The only way my spark could rest in peace is if you find someone to love you the same way that I did, or more because he would not be a coward like me and would not save his feelings for later, because later can be too late." Now he started crying and she couldn't speak, too stunned by his revelations.

"Please go back, rebuild our society… Don't avenge our deaths because that will only bring about more death."

"Ramjet..." She tried again.

"Go now, recover your family and restore it. You're not alone, my beloved Winglord." He whispered before bringing her face closer to his and planting a soft kiss against her lips, tasting her if only briefly.  
"Just like I imagined all those vorns, sweet and soft." He murmured.

She was left speechless at his actions with too many feelings surrounding her processor; then he took her hand once more in his and revealed the thin golden thread that was still tied to her arm.

"I hope this won't hurt." He said pulling at the other end of the thread twice.

The spell he cast on her after the kiss broke and she said in a surprised whisper: "Hurt?!" When he pulled a third time, she felt herself being quickly pulled somewhere else.

Ramjet, the rich decorated room of the royal tower and the light, all stayed behind...

...And was replaced by...

…

* * *

Three huge metallic dinosaurs licking vigorously at her face, neck and chest in a dark room.

Starscream could not help the scream that emerged from her vocal processor before blacking out again, going prone against the medical berth, completely at the mercy of those three beasts.

Even then the assaulting glossas didn't stop, what did make them stop was...

"WHAT THE FRAG!?" Ratchet yelled as he turned the lights on. "YOU AGAIN!?" He then grabbed his wrenches or whatever heavy objects he could snatch from his table and started throwing them at the dinosaurs who, without a word, flew away from the med-bay; but this time Ratchet decided to chase them, he would teach those perverted dinosaurs a lesson! Especially Swoop who had the codes to access the med-bay.

Back in the med-bay, Perceptor started the disgusting task of cleaning Starscream off the Dinobot's saliva.

He vented a sigh, unable to find a word for this situation and not noticing that for the first time since Starscream was brought into their base half dead, her spark was comfortably stable, no longer a dying sparkling at the bottom of her spark chamber.

...

* * *

"How did those three...? I don't want to know." Ratchet came back huffing after chasing the Dinobots all over the Ark and, though those damned dinosaurs ran fast, the CMO had been able to keep up with them the entire time until they had fled back to and hidden in their lair.

"How is our patient, Perceptor?" He suddenly asked, surprised to find the microscope so calm.

"Pretty well. There hasn't been an alarm since that morning after the incident with Prime."

"I see." Ratchet pointed. "...You think-" He was interrupted by the other scientist.

"...The Matrix had something to do with it?" Perceptor finished what the medic was thinking then nodded. "According to Prime's descriptions of what happened, it could be that or..." He trailed off.

"Or?"

"Something else." The scientist vaguely answered, his gaze focused somewhere else.

"Like? Oh come on, Percy, get to the point, would you?" Ratchet sounded impatient and wanted to know what his colleague was trying to tell him.

"I'm not sure, but I've heard of those kind of symbols before." And as Ratchet stared at the microscope, the scientist continued, "...from Alpha Trion."

"Alpha Trion? Why do you bring that old mech up?"

"Didn't you hear of him and his eccentricities?" Ratchet shook his head. "I heard him mention once about a mech who was completely tattooed with symbols that not even he could read and that he was capable of doing things that are considered impossible.

"He also said that mech was banished by Primus himself and that if he died, his spark would never rest in peace because the Well of Allsparks was off limits to him." Perceptor elaborated in a grim tone.

"Seriously, Perceptor, when did he share all that with you?" The CMO asked in an unconvinced tone.

"He didn't, I was a sparkling then and hid under a table. I didn't ask about such things, but I know what I heard; he was informing the other members of the Council of it as if warning them. At that time, Sentinel Prime was ruling with them and he told him that the Matrix would react to this doomed mech and vice versa."

"But Starscream is neither a mech nor that old. So… you think he was talking about someone else…? Maybe someone who was related to her?" Ratchet started putting some of the pieces together.

"Maybe, after all, you said in your report that these... tattoos are as old as she is; maybe it was her sire." Perceptor finished, his spark filled with dread.

"Did Alpha Trion say anything else? Like his frame type? Or... I don't know… his name?"

"No, but he said that this cursed mech, in order to keep his power and youth, did horrible things like consuming the energon of sparklings; it's what the humans call a vampire, now that I think of it."

"But Starscream never, not that I know of, ate or killed someone to... to do that. Actually, if she has the same tattoos and powers the mech you said Alpha Trion was talking about, why has she never used them to finish the war and to make her our ruler? It would have been that simple as opposed to attempting to kill Megatron and pretending that his whole army would respect her when she knew they all despised her." Ratchet said looking at the still seeker.

"I don't know, Ratchet, that part is unknown to me, maybe we can ask her once she awakes."

"Yeah, sure, as if she's gonna answer all of our questions." The CMO replied in a mocking tone. "I just wish that old Alpha Trion was here to give us the answers to them."

Perceptor didn't say anything else and a silence followed after that before the scientist finally decided to speak again. "Why not check on her now that she's stable and see what she needs to function properly?"

"Hmm... good idea; but still, what you just told me is still bugging my processor."

"Drop it, we will ask her once she comes around." Perceptor decided to close the subject. After all, he remembered the way Alpha Trion told the elders that story, it was as if the ancient mech was still scared about something, but what could possibly terrify him so badly?

Leaving the matter behind, both started to scan her body again properly before deciding where to start.

…

* * *

"The damage is more extensive than we thought," Ratchet stated hours later once the scanning of her body was finished. "We can't do this alone, we need help, all the help we can get if this seeker will be as functional as Optimus wants her to be."

"Does Optimus really think that she will submit to his demands?" Perceptor frowned, sincerely doubting his Prime in this matter; this was not the way to treat a guest, even less so if you wanted something from said guest.

"He's been acting like an idiot lately and he's positive that she will do as he demands... no matter that it is Starscream we are talking about."

Perceptor shook his head. "No matter if it's a Decepticon, he can't just force someone to do that. I would not be surprised if she kills him or tries to escape to return to the Decepticons!"

"He believes he can and that the Matrix is guiding him in his decisions." Ratchet huffed in annoyance at that statement. "It might be the reason it reacted that way."

"Because the bearer is a jerk?"

Ratchet chuckled. "Always to the point, aren't you, Percy? What about the cursed mech and all that stuff from before?"

"Maybe, but anyway, Optimus is behaving like an imbecile, cursed seeker or not."

…

* * *

"We summon you here with only one purpose, Starscream as you can see is a femme and Optimus Prime has plans for her."

The CMO watched the other mechs beside Perceptor carefully; the one who worried him the most was Swoop who just couldn't stop moving. "Said plans don't concern us, but since the damage her body is in is so massive, we will need all the help we can get; I want to know if you are in?"

Wheeljack seemed to hesitate as a worried look crossed his optics for a long while after imagining what the Prime meant to use her for; but nodded nonetheless. First Aid didn't hesitate before agreeing and Swoop...

"Swoop! Will you quit moving already?!" Ratchet barked at the pterodactyl and the younger looked at the CMO with big childish optics.

"Me Swoop likes his smell, a lot, him Starscream smells good, him always smells good."

Everybody lifted their optics to the young medic in training in awe before Ratchet frowned. "And you and your brothers will keep your tongues to yourselves! No matter how good she smells!" The young Dinobot nodded, not desiring to be the object of Ratchet's wrath again.

"Good, we will start now. I already have assigned conditions to each one of us, so we will take different cases and she will be ready within a few weeks, possibly only days."

"Humm... Ratchet?" Swoop hesitantly addressed his mentor.

"What?!" He really didn't have time for this so he barked at the Dinobot.

"Him Starscream... awake."

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can assure you that in the next 2 or 3 chapters, Optimus' plan will be revealed and Starscream will be very upset, enraged actually... I don't want to make too long chapters because it distracts from the central idea.
> 
> Betaed by: Angelcakes19
> 
> Please leave me some love with some coments and kuddos  
> xoxo


	16. Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: Character death, descriptions of past abuse

**Chapter Twelve**

_Dear diary:_

… _I hate being a Winglord... or the 'Heir'... It's annoying, frustrating and tiring!_

_...  
_

* * *

"Sunblaze?"

"Sit straight!"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Once you're done sitting straight! And you two, as the Royal Trine Mates must stand even straighter!" The Winglord barked at Thundercracker and Skywarp.

Ignoring her uncle and rolling her optics- knowing full well the implications of it- she asked him nonetheless. "Why didn't you keep your word to destroy my tower?" The question was enough to make the Winglord freeze and his ventilations stall, her bodyguards tensing automatically in response and straightening in their places as if she had just hit a nerve for their monarch and he was liable to explode at any moment.

"Sunblaze?"

…

* * *

"It was a big mistake to ask him that, Highness," Ramjet stated as the six of them tried to relax in the wash racks, bathing in cold water tubs to see if that eased all the tension of the day after Starscream's question had made Sunblaze be particularly harsh on them. "That tower... it can't be destroyed."

"Everything can be destroyed! He's just useless. How could he banish me and not destroy a single and simple tower?" Taking her head out of the water, Starscream growled at the Winglord's non-existent attempts at keeping his word; besides, she wanted to see that place destroyed too.

"He tried, but nothing can harm the exterior, and when he also tried from the inside out, it was impossible as well; he also said that the place is haunted because it is always cold and that somehow he could see what happened there to... with you..."

Starscream frowned, ignoring the last statement. If that cursed place couldn't be destroyed, then it was even worse than she had anticipated. Next to her she could see her cousins out from the corners of her optics staring at her sadly.

…

* * *

The next day the Winglord received his heir and her company with a deep frown that promised a hard day of full training and no rest. Starscream just frowned back in a give-me-the-best-you've-got look before setting her optics on the datapad he held in his hand.

"I am too busy to travel to Praxus so I will delegate that responsibility to my heir." The six youngsters looked at him in confusion and he continued without giving them a chance to ask any of the questions swirling through their processors. "You will travel to Praxus and will take this to the governor, it is my answer to his questions and it must be delivered as soon as possible; and no," he continued, watching their expressions, "it can't be delivered by mail or any other service, this is private and top secret and only the governor must lay optics on it."

Saying that he stood and tried to pass it into Starscream's hands, but the stubborn seeker refused to take it before questioning him. "What is it about?"

It was pretty clear that Sunblaze was not in the mood for questions but was wise enough to answer Starscream if he wanted her to do the task. "My answer to the negotiations about the price of the energon he will be selling to Vos. After all, he possesses a mine big enough to sustain us… for the right price."

Thinking internally that his answer was truthful, Starscream took the datapad and subspaced it before walking away.

"Before you six leave, Starscream, you need another layer of armour." Said femme turned again to her uncle lifting an optic ridge. "I already prepared one for you; go to the medbay so they will adjust it to fit you before leaving."

Giving the Winglord a strange look, Starscream just rolled her optics, shook her head and marched away; her trine and bodyguards following.

…..

* * *

"Wow Star! You look like a mech!" Skywarp bounced around her happily after she put a pede outside the med-bay and stared at each fresh line her new armour gave her.

"Is it not heavy?" Thundercracker asked in concern watching how the new layer hid most of her feminine curves and made her look bulkier.

Looking at her hands and arms, Starscream answered. "It must be the training, because I don't feel the difference."

"Why would our Winglord make you wear this? It's just a little trip, right? Besides, he didn't give us a new layer of armour as well." Skywarp pouted, as he poked Starscream's latest pieces of plating.

"Maybe it is because he doesn't want anybody to know that Star is a femme?" Everybody set their optics on Ramjet. "It is for security I'm sure."

Grinning wickedly, Skywarp quickly strode up in front of Ramjet, looking straight in his nervous orbs in a mocking way. "You called her ' _Staaar_ '? To the heir?"

Ramjet gulped, flushing as he cast his look up to the ceiling embarrassedly, feeling like his processor was about to overheat. His brothers teasingly chuckled at him but luckily for him Starscream didn't pay her bodyguard any attention as her new heels seemed far more interesting.

"Enough, Warp. Stop teasing him." Thundercracker yanked his brother by the arm before looking suspiciously at Ramjet- who couldn't hold his gaze and bent his head to face the floor- and grabbed Starscream too, albeit more gently. "Come on, Star, let's finish with this, then you can explore your new armour."

Starscream just grunted in discomfort and her bodyguards followed them as they prepared to depart from Vos.

…

* * *

"Humm... Star... Why are we flying so slow?" Skywarp whiningly asked his trine leader and cousin as they soared through the mountains that surrounded and hid the city of Vos. "You know we can fly faster than this... that _you_ can fly very much faster than all of us put together... so _why?_ "

"Because I'm enjoying every second I have away from Sunblaze and his _lessons._ " Starscream barrel-rolled, relishing the temporary freedom.

She could hear the five mechs around her agree with that as they continued 'slowly' flying to Praxus. "At this rate we will be there in three days, and if we return at the same speed it will take us the same… So... that gives us almost a full week's break."

"A week without Sunblaze..." Skywarp's almost inhaling sound of relief could be heard clearly. "That is _so_ worthy of going slow."

Silence followed through their comms and across their flying paths before... " _Ninety nine cubes of high grade on the wall, ninety nine cubes of high grade, take one down and pass it around, ninety eight cubes of high grade..._ " Thrust started singing to his brother's horror.

"Oh, no, no, _no_ , stop him, stop him!" Dirge moaned in a desperate voice as if he was grabbing his helm in an attempt to avoid the coming headache.

But to his utter horror, Skywarp joined in with him and both made a choir. " _Ninety eight cubes of high grade on the wall, ninety eight cubes of high grade, take one down and pass it around, ninety seven cubes of high grade..._ "

"Arggggggh, please, Highness, tell them to stop!" The Conehead tried. Unfortunately for him a girlish giggle was heard through their comm line.

"Oh, Dirge, leave them be, they are making Star have fun." Ramjet stated, amused at hearing their future monarch sound so at ease for once.

"D'awwww... _Staaaar_... Ramjet and St-" Skywarp tried to tease the Conehead bodyguard but was interrupted by...

" _Warp_!" Thundercracker barked in a warning tone to his brother making him flinch both physically and in their link.

"What is it?" Confused, Starscream wondered what the big deal was that had caused her usually calm cousin to react like that.

"N-nothing, Star, want to join us…? _Eighty eight cubes of high grade on the wall, eighty eight cubes of high grade, take one down and pass it around, eighty seven cubes of high grade..._ "

"Ah... no." She chuckled fondly.

"Too bad, more for us, right Thrust?" Skywarp's voice through the link sounded like a big grin.

"Yeah! ... _Eighty seven cubes of high grade on the wall, eighty seven cubes of high grade, take one down and pass it around, eighty six cubes of high grade..._ "

Through the link they could also hear Dirge cursing the one who created such hideous and annoying music.

...

* * *

Days later, Starscream with her trine and bodyguards arrived at Praxus and waited patiently for the governor to receive them.

"The Governor will receive you now," a red bulky mech announced to the six of them. "Please, follow me."

Without a word they followed and when they arrived at their destination, the unwieldy mech knocked the doors, waited momentarily for an answer and then opened them. "You can come in." And once they had obeyed the doors were closed after them.

"Welcome, seekers," an old, wise mech greeted them amiably; he was white with some hints of gold in his armour and an apparent peaceful expression on his faceplates. "It is good to see you arrived safely; I can see you have my answer from the Winglord, may I see it?" He extended his hand to Starscream and she gave him the datapad.

After finishing his reading he voiced his opinion, "I see… I imagined this. After all, if his answer was a negative he wouldn't have sent his heir to me." He eyed Starscream.

Starscream did her best to keep her face impassive, but her insides was in a turmoil of emotions she hoped she could handle; however, her trine and bodyguards glared at the Governor; after all, no one was supposed to know who Starscream was.

"I feel privileged he did. It is truly an honour to meet you, Lady Starscream."

Those last words made her optic twitch and her partners began to warily reach for their weapons, but she stopped them.

"You must be wondering how I know... Well..." He trailed off watching them. "...I'm an old mech and I've seen femmes trying to pass as mechs before; you shouldn't hide what you are, and from what I can see, you will be a good ruler; Sunblaze has chosen well."

It took all Starscream's willpower to not snort at that; but the mech continued. "I've heard about you from the Science Academy. It is good to know that those scientists are not as smart as they claim they are if they couldn't realize that there was a femme amongst them. I also heard about what they did to the shuttles..." A sigh escaped his vents before he continued, watching her intently. "I am honoured to make deals with Vos and especially you. I hope we can both benefit from this arrangement."

A silence followed after the mech finished, which Starscream eventually broke. "How...?" She trailed off.

He just smiled. "I can see many things. Besides, I admit it is a hobby that I have to investigate strange things, they intrigue me, and you are one of them."

"Don't be offended, dude, but you sound like a stalker." Unable to keep his mouth shut any longer, Skywarp suddenly spoke, and to their surprise the Governor just smiled.

"Then I stalk everyone. Sadly, Vos is an isolated city and I have no way of knowing about your lives, or the early one of the Heir. I just know that she's a prodigy and must be looked after and taken care of."

"I'm not a sparkling." Starscream's optic ridges narrowed in annoyance.

"No, you're not, but your position, politically speaking, makes you as vulnerable as one." He finished and she just casted her offended look to the right wall.

"Governor, I really appreciate what you do for our city… What the Autobot Council in Iacon is doing is... unfair." She changed the subject.

"Yoketron, you may call me Yoketron; and yes... I just hope a war doesn't start because of their greed. It is the last thing this planet and our people needs. Besides, I know that both our cities will benefit from this agreement."

"Thank you, Yoketron." She stated simply and he just smiled.

"You have a long way to go in the wisdom of ruling, but you're young and you're not alone. Remember, I'll advise you as a friend, don't rush things, let them take their time."

"You're odd, you know that?" Skywarp was unable to keep quiet again and gained the other five seekers' growls.

Yoketron just chuckled "Once you reach my age, young one, you will be like this; I was like you when I was younger."

Starscream rolled her optics, they needed to work on Skywarp's manners; but as long as Sunblaze never found out how he talked to the Governor their heads would be safe.

...

* * *

Days later after they left Praxus and finally arrived at Vos... what their optics granted them was not something they ever thought they would ever see. Nor did they ever want to see such horrors.

"No..." Starscream whispered, gaze tracing the utter devastation of their home city. Almost all the high towers were destroyed, piles of smouldering rubble marking their former locations, while everything burned around and through them, smoke billowing into the sky and staining and poisoning the once pure, clean air. Buildings: hospitals, academies, libraries, homes… were left as nothing more than debris, and corpses littered the once proud state of Vos.

" _No!_ " She could hear her company scream as one; screaming for their sires, carriers, brothers, friends…

What in Primus' name had happened here and who was capable of such massive destruction?

Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust flew to the locations of their towers only to find them gone and charred ruins in their place, their few possessions that had not been completely incinerated laying scattered on the ground all burned and mangled beyond repair and use. There was no way someone could have survived that, the enemy who dared to do such thing had made sure to not take prisoners.

To Starscream's terror, her tower was the only one to remain standing in the middle of all the devastation and sources of fathomless grief, as chillingly impeccable and haunted as always; still proudly and arrogantly erect in front of all those who had fallen, calling the survivors as a magnet does to metal.

It seemed the six of them thought exactly that as they flew to the entrance of the cursed tower where they found the gates wide open and traces of energon defiled the walls of the main hall that received its visitors even further.

" _No!"_ Skywarp yelled as he entered the plagued place looking around like a crazed mech for something, someone, a survivor… a little thread of hope.

Horrified, Starscream wandered around almost struck numb as she found further offlined bodies. She turned her gaze to a wall then a corner and on and on until she heard one of her cousins yelling her name, imploring for her to hurry. Once she reached their location her optics were greeted with a macabre vision.

Lying there, prone and helpless, on the middle of the ground, almost as if on disgusting display was her uncle, the Winglord, Sunblaze. His body seemed to have suffered the most abuse, there being a dramatic and dreadful difference from the other bodies around his; and not just was his body soiled, it was also desecrated; his head was missing!

Starscream could only stare, aghast. The one who murdered her uncle took his _head_ after...

… She didn't even want to think about it... but couldn't avoid it no matter what.

He had been raped…! Brutally so.

The seeker femme didn't even realize that hot, fat tears were running down her cheeks before she fell on her knees screaming out the encased emotions she had held in for so long; so hard and loud was her sobbing yell that her partners covered their audios at the intensity of it and feel sure that the mournful shriek would have been heard all over the mountains that surrounded their city and even further away from them.

Finally, when she calmed, they could hear steps approaching fast and readied their weapons for what was to come even if they were out of themselves at the scene that was even too much for one of their worst nightmares.

The first thing they spotted in the darkness were several pairs of glowing red optics looking at them and the sound of many weapons being unsheathed and pointed at them.

Starscream felt her energon boil inside her and could hear those voices in her head again as they whispered sweet temptations to her about what she could do with the newcomers:

' _...Kill them all...'_

' _...You have the power...'_

' _...They deserve it...'_

' _...They destroyed your home, kill them!'_

' _...Delight yourself in their spilled energon...'_

And she had to admit it was enticing indeed, but just when she was about to fall into the sin of murder again, a booming voice spoke leaving them all still.

"Lower your weapons, they are only survivors, they are the reason we're here."

Immediately her bodyguards jumped in front of her in a protective gesture just before a huge grey, silvery mech walked from out of the shadows and the multitude of hungry crimson optics. Starscream's optics widened as she recognized the mech and she sent a frantic message to her comrades: ::" _Don't you dare say who I am no matter what, for you I'm just another seeker mech and don't you dare object!_ ":: She finished before any of them could inadvertently betray her.

"I apologise for my mechs." The big grounder stepped in front of them. "We meant no harm. We only came after receiving an emergency call that the city was being bombed by Autobots."

All seekers in the room frowned at that pronouncement but the undesignated grounder continued regardless. "I warned the Winglord about the situation but he decided to negotiate with them personally and _this_ is the result."

He paced in front of them, taking in the sight of each one of them. "You can't negotiate with those corrupt Autobots." And when he seemed to not find what he was looking for in their faces... or frames, he proceeded to make an offer. "However, I would be more than happy to have you as part of my army and you could fulfil the wishes you no doubt have for vengeance against those Autobots who have destroyed your city, your home, and killed your families..."

Starscream didn't seem convinced by this mech at all, the problem was that her trine and bodyguards had grief-originated rage boiling in their optics, and their desire to take this mech up on his offer was very clear in each one of them. It _was_ very alluring she had to admit, to be given the chance to destroy all those who had shattered her former home and even her posterior one... Besides, now they were homeless, without a city or a purpose…

"Apparently the six of you are the last of your kin. We couldn't find any more survivors in the whole city, those bastard Autobots tried to make sure that you were all extinct. But do not worry, I'll take you in if you decide to join us, and I promise that you will have your revenge."

It was more than enough for her trine and bodyguards to turn back and look at her asking, _pleading_ silently for her to consider his words, his offered oath. She just nodded knowing resignedly that they would follow him no matter what she said... no matter what she herself had promised Sunblaze.

"Then you have us on your side." Thundercracker stated before the warlord came and shook his hand firmly, a wide and evil smirk crossing the grey mech's features.

...

* * *

Days later, after burning all the seeker corpses they could find in the now deserted cemetery city of Vos with the aid of Megatron's army, the seekers returned with him to Kaon, leaving behind everything they had once known and loved. Megatron quickly ordered for the seekers to be inspected by the current medics of his army.

Starscream observed these 'medics' with little confidence in their abilities, ordering Ramjet's trine to stay outside the med-bay and keep watch as she and her cousins were the first ones to be checked as she didn't trust anyone else to look out for them.

The seeker femme watched as the 'medics' checked on her trine and one of them could simply not stop staring at her from his work; from time to time this mech turned around over and over again to look at her and when he finally opened his mouth to speak, it was to ask his brother a worrying question.

"Will you tell her or shall I?"

Not even a second after she frowned, her trine had their weapons ready and aimed at the medics' heads.

...

* * *

**Nemesis...**  
 **Megatron's quarters...**

A dark chuckle filled the shadowy room before the owner of the deep sound decided to form a sentence after putting down the book with a small clunk...

"Stupid seekers, if they had known... If I had known that Starscream was _that_ little femme... Ah, Starscream, you would have been mine... and you should have been... just like him..."

The warlord talked to himself as he seemed to recall... something that happened long ago...

...

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more thing... the last scene with Starscream and the 'medics' is no other than the one described in Hook's POV in Chapter 3 ...just in case so you will remember ;)
> 
> Oh, by the way, if someone is interested, I updated my other (long forgoten) story 'Their Nightmare' on ff(dot)net I will appreciate if you go and take a look and even more if you give me some love :)
> 
> Betaed by: Angelcakes19
> 
> Thank you for reading and please review, you know that I love to read your comments and read them makes me so happy that I could fly :D (not kidding) ...but no reviews makes me so sad that I will crawl like a caterpillar...


	17. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: MA, R-18... Major character death, descriptions of past abuse, rape, non-con, torture, vampirism, languaje... 
> 
> ...Uncensored version.

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Stupid seekers..." Megatron couldn't help but chuckle darkly as memories assaulted his processor, memories of a pastime, of what he had done... and to whom it was directed…

"Sunblaze..." He purred the fallen Winglord's name sinisterly. " _Yes_... what a delicious mech..."

...

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

**Megatron's POV...**

"No, Megatron, stop this!" Sunblaze struggled against Soundwave's restraining tentacles, watching how his bodyguards were killed before his optics for trying in vain to defend him.

"The time for negotiations is over, _Sunblaze_." Megatron crooned the Winglord's name in a way that made all the seekers present start to shiver.

" _ **No!**_ " One of the last remaining seekers yelled before jumping Megatron in an attempt to prevent the murderous grounder hurting their sacred monarch; but said mech was grabbed out of the air by another Decepticon soldier who slammed him harshly into the floor, restraining him there mercilessly. "Don't you _dare_ lay a finger on the Winglord!" He roared, struggling desperately.

"Oh really? Feisty little things you seekers are. Shockwave, teach him a lesson. I will be busy with my dear Sunblaze."

With a bow, Shockwave wasted not a moment more, aiming and shooting a fire blast into the seeker's chest, leaving what was a buzzing spark chamber as merely a smoking crater, and offlining the flier permanently.

"You're crazy!" Sunblaze whispered horrified and unable to raise his voice higher as his body went lax against his restraints, aggrieved at the sight of his compatriot being offlined in front of him, and he knew he was the next. He couldn't defend his city or his people… he had failed them all.

Megatron knew that Sunblaze was not going to accept his deal; what he hadn't expected was the way he, himself reacted, the sudden wave of vengeful rage that had stripped through his energon lines. So, in a desperate need to assuage his anger and starving for revenge, he planned the destruction of Vos in retaliation, because if he didn't have the seekers from his side, he didn't intend to allow them to join with his enemy; even less the Praxians. Yes, he knew of that too and that it meant that someday the Winglord would probably make the Vossians join the Autobot army if he saw convenience in it, if the Praxians requested they did so...

...that is what he said anyway.

The warlord reached for the bound monarch and took his face with his right hand, forcing the other to look up at him. "Now... I know there were other seekers here… What I mean is, where is that lovely white femme I saw the last time I set a pede into your tower?"

Taken aback, it took Sunblaze a while to understand what he wanted, so he just frowned in confusion.

"I know that she must've been royalty, or you wouldn't have protected her in the manner you did, so where is she?" Megatron asked so naturally as if they were two friends chatting about the weather.

"I didn't see her anywhere and she would certainly make a nice toy, a gorgeous one that would be treasured until it breaks!"

The Vossian monarch gave no reply, keeping a stubborn silence. "Soundwave, do me a favour." Megatron gestured his officer to _check_ on Sunblaze's processors and the telepath reached for him with his tentacles, setting his hand atop the seeker's head.

It only took a moment for him to find an answer, though not the one Megatron wanted. "Unable to access. Access denied. Trying again... Unable to access. Access denied." The telepath repeated monotonously.

"Impressive..." Megatron mused before reaching for the seeker once again and this time... caressing his face deceptively softly.

Sunblaze's optics widened and his struggles started all over again even when he unconsciously knew that it was impossible to get free. "I think I will have to take that information in another way... You know… you _are_ a beautiful mech..."

"Frag you!" The monarch spat.

"Ooh... what spirit, I like that. Don't worry, it will only get better if you curse and struggle..."

...

Not a second after those words left Megatron's mouth, Sunblaze was roughly shoved on his back on the unforgiving ground, his legs forcibly spread; Soundwave's grip tightening on his limbs to keep him still. " _ **No!"**_ He cried once more as Megatron positioned himself between his legs and rubbed his interface panel in a disgustingly lustful attempt to coax it open.

"I love when my prey fights; it feels more... tight..." Megatron purred in his audio as cheers and whistles were heard in the background, urging the Decepticon leader to hurry and show the seeker his place.

"Don't you dare! Leave me alone!" The seeker shouted and twisted in his bonds as Megatron quickly gave up him mock-patiently trying to tease it open and simply ripped off the seeker's interface panel, revealing his dry and unused port.

"Two things, my dear monarch. I can't disappoint our public, and second, you didn't answer my question... I can at least make this enjoyable for you if you just tell me where you hid that beauty. I just can't get her out of my mind." He rubbed the head of his thick and hardening member against the dry entrance of the other as he talked. "But… since I can't have her, I will have you."

" _ **No!**_ Please, Megatron, don't! Stop! Don't do this!" The Winglord's body shook harder as he begged, trying frantically to make the other see reason, but it was useless.

Megatron's spike finally thrust in, breaking through the resistance of the tight and dry port not ceasing in his assault no matter how much his partner screamed, thrashed or begged; and since the entrance was unprepared, with each inch the bigger mech pierced it energon blood started leaking from the torn, silky and delicate walls, causing harsh pain but also helping a little in that it somewhat lubricated him…

"Ooooh... _Sunblaze_ , so fragging tight! You are going to squeeze my spike off! Ohhh... so _delicious_! It's been so long since the last- no... Actually I've never tasted something like this... I'm going to enjoy ravishing every inch of you." Megatron moaned and whispered as a third of his thick and long spike was forced in.

Sunblaze screamed in agony as his port was horribly stretched, having been dry and unprepared right from the beginning, and couldn't help the energon tears that ran free from his optics as he continued to struggle, trying to somehow pull the other mech off and out. "Stop! _**No!**_ Please!"

"Too late for that, my dear Sunblaze, I'm enjoying this far too much..." He whispered in the other's audio before licking it and suddenly thrusting all the way in drawing an agonised howl from the already tormented vocaliser, and causing the seeker to further hurt himself as he pulled on his constricting bonds.

Lord Megatron laughed ominously before pulling his spike and slamming it back in, starting to thrust in a cruel rhythm, trying to get more lubrication for himself with the other's spilled energon blood; then started to quicken his already brutal pace that had the winged mech on the bottom screaming even louder, begging him to stop as he was used harshly against his will, frame banging against the ground with each thrust.

The other mechs surrounding them continued with their cheering and some of them even released their spikes and started pumping them as they watched the scene they considered erotic.

"M-my Lord?" one of them tried; spike in hand, hard and ready. "Can we... please?" He signalled a seeker that was thrashing in a captor's grip, trying to get to his monarch to save him from the rapist.

" _Yes_... take what you need... oooh!" Megatron answered, hissing. "These seekers are delicious; take them now that you can, share them if you must... Hmmm... Oh _yes_..." He continued hammering into the Winglord at a fast and hard rate. By this point, the bleeding port had streamed down to stain Megatron's thighs; dripping down to the floor and pooling beneath Sunblaze's aft.

Each cry of agony, howl and scream was swallowed by Megatron when he took the Winglord's mouth in a possessive and aggressively deep kiss, which was not returned in any manner, but he didn't care as long as his claimed seeker pleased him until he was satisfied.

Meanwhile the other soldiers were taking turns with the remaining seekers, ramming into them harshly as their leader took his own piece of metal, and some even did as Megatron told them to do; sharing the same winged mech, thrusting into both port and aft, or simply double penetrating them in one orifice. The cursed and abandoned tower was filled with screams once again...

...Screams of pain, agony and fear...

…Screams of pleasure, release and domination.

When Megatron finally released his seed into the bleeding port for the fourth time and finished riding the waves of his last overload, he pulled out and looked up at the energon-covered scene.

Sunblaze was panting and shaking, barely alive but not truly dying either, not yet; covered in dents and a mix of smeared and fresh energon, a pool of his blood mixed with Megatron's transfluid covered the ground under them; and that was arousing in itself, but what really caused him to harden again was what he saw his mechs doing to the remaining, suffering seekers. "Soundwave..." He addressed his telepath with a beckoning finger.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" The telepath slinked forward, having watched the show in silent enjoyment.

"I want to _reward_ you for a job well done." A cruel smirk crossed Megatron's features and Soundwave understood, releasing his hardening spike which dripped pre-cum as the idea of what Megatron had in mind crossed his processor. "If it wasn't for you, we would have never being able to defeat these _lovely_ birds, much less have the opportunity of tasting them."

Megatron knelt and took Sunblaze in his arms, settling him in his lap so the winged mech's back was to his chest as Soundwave positioned himself at the Winglord's front, rubbing the head of his now fully hard spike against the bleeding entrance as his leader did the same with his own spike. The Winglord was still dazed from pain but Soundwave kept him awake nonetheless with feather light brushes to the flier's processor.

Within moments, Megatron was thrusting back in, closely followed by Soundwave as both shared the same port, fulfilling their hunger with deep, brutally hard thrusts and the monarch's renewed cries and thrashing.

" _Yes_ , Soundwave; let's see who can go deeper..." Megatron groaned in pleasure, feeling the ridged surface of his officer's spike rub deliciously against his own.

"Or who can release more transfluid, Lord Megatron." The telepath's melodic voice answered in friendly challenge.

Both mechs thrust mercilessly and the Winglord began to truly feel that he was about to be split in two as the two biggest mechs he had ever met ravished him brutally over and over again. " _ **Stop! Please! I can't take this anymore...!"**_ He glanced at the other seekers for just a moment and gasped in disgusted horror at the sight.

"Ooooh... but my dear Sunblaze, we have only just started to play, besides, who can stop now after watching this erotic scene around us?" Megatron panted as with each word he thrust even harder.

"You fragging monster!" The Vossian yelled, trying to escape but was simply too weak to do anything that was not letting the others do as they pleased with him.

"Come on, Soundwave, harder, he needs a hard one!" Megatron encouraged his officer who obeyed even after Sunblaze purged violently on him. Thankfully for him he wore a facemask.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the two thrusting mechs overloaded hard, releasing their acidic transfluid into the peeled and damaged port making the owner cry out and gag.

"Hmmm... Soundwave... I think we are even..." The Decepticon leader stated in a dreamy voice.

"Correct. Request: again?" The tape deck suggested and, considering Megatron's smirk, his proposal was accepted.

"Yes, but this time, I want to try something else." He pulled out, leaving Soundwave deep inside, and rubbed the bloody head of his spike against the monarch's aft before thrusting in in one swift motion, venting harshly at the small resistance the dry passage gave him, dragging another agonised shriek from Sunblaze.

…

* * *

Hours later, when Soundwave and Megatron climaxed for the last time within Sunblaze, they dropped him carelessly to the floor where he lay like a broken doll, a strip of tattered rag. He hadn't moved a single finger since the beginning of their fourth assault; his optics were dim and his armour scattered all over the tower as he laid there bared and utterly exposed.

The only visible movement he could make was to loll his head to one side and look at everything and nothing at the same time.

"My beautiful, beautiful mech," Megatron cooed cruelly, taking the seeker's head in his hands and forcing it to look at him. "I truly enjoyed that. Too bad it was a one-time thing."

"Primus forgive me..." Sunblaze weakly whispered knowing what was next and looking at nowhere even if his face pointed Megatron. "Please forgive me...I deserved it... so I would understand the implications of my neglecting... I'm sorry..."

Megatron just frowned not understanding what the other was mumbling about and judging by Soundwave's expression, he didn't either. So, he raised his sword...

"I'm so sorry..." Sunblaze managed one last time as tears fell from his unfocused optics.

...And Megatron brought the blade down after these last words left the Winglord's lips:

"...My daughter..."

And his spark was pierced, sputtering out weakly beneath the cold point of the blade, offlining him permanently. Then Megatron removed the sword just to cut off the fallen monarch's head. "It will suit me, serve as a good souvenir." He told Soundwave before subspacing it.

Then he and his two officers walked to the exit to delight themselves in the scene of the city being destroyed by three huge metallic worms that came from underground, rising up to devastate all the towers and helping with the hunt of the remaining seekers who tried to escape. Any seeker who was caught was immediately killed, either devoured by the worms or shot through the spark or helm, or taken and raped.

"Shockwave, once you're done here you will take your creations to Praxus; we will meet there. I don't want those idiots around."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Shockwave bowed as the three mechs watched the last remains of Vos fall.

...And three days later Praxus fell as well.

However, he never thought that six seekers had survived and were even then returning home.

...

* * *

**The Nemesis...**  
 **Several quarters and passageways...**

Soundwave paced around the Nemesis, frustrated that there was not a single mech around, almost all of those remaining were recharging or hiding, or both. The vampire telepath could not help but feel his anger boil as he remembered what had happened with Astrotrain and Hook; the constructicon had seen him! And the worst part was that he couldn't enter the med-bay no matter what he did, that place was off limits for him, so he couldn't dispose of the problem.

The newly designated SIC thought of all the times he was able to enter the area, and had to wonder why it was now impossible. He just didn't get it, no one had known of his true nature until now... except Starscream.

That mech had caused him many troubles in the past, making it almost impossible for him to feed, and no matter how many times he tried to get rid of the Vossian, the seeker always survived! Even after Megatron's beatings when the warlord accused him of treachery after the telepath planted bombs and scapegoated the flier...

But even then, he survived and the worst part was that Soundwave couldn't see what he was thinking, he or any other seeker as if he was protecting them somehow.

The only good thing about it all was that no one believed the seeker when he said that Soundwave was a vampire, they only laughed in his face...

A sudden movement in the shadows interrupted Soundwave's train of thought and sharpened his senses as he tried to find its source... but only silence greeted him, so he decided to continue patrolling as he decided who would be his next meal.

Again the sound was heard and this time he released his tentacles as he attempted to look menacing to his stalker. Whoever it was, it would become his meal as soon as he found its source and caught it...

...but a sharp pain and an invisible force restrained him tightly, making it impossible for him to break from his unseen bonds so, in a desperate attempt for freedom, he sent sound waves in all directions trying to disarm his captor... But the only thing he gained was his assailant laughing at him with a macabre sound.

"Vampire, is it? I've heard of your kind… So, you were the one consuming the lives of the mechs here? I can't let that pass, can I?"

Soundwave didn't answer and the other continued. "My creators taught me to never play with my food, however, I'm old enough to choose if I obey them or not... and guess what... I've decided not to." The darkened figure purred silkily before Soundwave's tentacles started wrapping themselves around their owner securely.

"Now tell me, vampire… I thought all of your kin were... extinct, destroyed after being abusive with your powers towards the mortals!" The mech paced around the SIC, not revealing his true identity. "But I can see that _you_ escaped and just like your predecessors you're misusing your power, albeit with defenceless mortals, unable to reach the ones who can burn you down for help. You're nothing but a pathetic coward!" He spat in utter revulsion.

"And for being such a pathetic coward, I'll have to reward you, but how…? By prolonging your suffering, of course! I will not kill you right away!" The mech proclaimed out loud and for the first time, Soundwave tried to get away, to escape, realising that this mech was pure evil!

The mech cackled in a ghoulish tone before promising: "You can't leave, no one can! Now you're mine to do with as I please!" he shouted before tossing Soundwave in the next quarters he came to, the Stunticon's quarters. And to Soundwave's surprise they were all offlined! He hadn't killed them!

"Oh? Looking at my work?" The other said, placing his chin on the tape deck's shoulder. "I was hungry and couldn't help myself."

The mech forced Soundwave onto his back on the floor and straddled the telepath before taking out a shiny silver, pointy and glimmering blade. Soundwave's optics widened as the other removed his visor and facemask, stripping him of those precious defences.

"Now, let's play..." The stranger giggled with a wide grin, before starting to chant in an unknown language and, using the sharp tip of the blade, he started drawing strange symbols over Soundwave's armour; and now the SIC noticed… the Stunticon's bodies were tattooed with them as well!

"What are you?" Soundwave managed to gasp, knowing that he had no means of escape. Whoever this mech was, he was as powerful as the race that destroyed the telepath's own home and kin.

"I am..." the other bent in, close to his audio, "your playmate..." And a wicked and creepy grin graced his features before he continued with his chanting...

In the dark and deserted passageways of the Nemesis, Soundwave's unique and never before heard screams were heard as the other tortured him, fed from him... and raped him. All those sounds mixed in and combined with the other's evil laugh and yells of pleasure as he reached his multiple climaxes buried inside what he could considered his.

…

* * *

**Nemesis...**  
 **Megatron's quarters...**

The gun former continued thinking about the 'lovely' femme and how she and Starscream could well have been the same person.

"Oh my sweet Starscream, your feisty personality wouldn't have lasted long under my care, with my spike breaking deep inside of you for days on end, and my seed filling you up and marking you as mine; I bet you would have been a magnificent and obedient pleasure bot after a few... _lessons._ " He chuckled, drinking another sip of his high grade and stroking his now fully aroused spike. "Ahhh... I just can't stop imagining those gorgeous and beautiful hips of yours bouncing up and down in my lap and those precious and sensitive wings shaking and rattling under my touch..."

"You really have a large imagination, don't you?" A new voice sounded, breaking the silence and in an instant Megatron had risen from his berth, pointing his sword at the intruder who had dared to enter his chambers without permission.

"Oh, I'm sorry, don't stop on my account; you were making quite a show with _that_." The red optics of the intruder shone darkly; it was hard to describe in what kind of lust, whether it was of murder or interface…

"Whoever you are, _**get out**_!" The warlord barked, however the other mech didn't even flinch, standing smugly in the shadows.

"You really like to yell, don't you?" The mech chuckled in genuine amusement.

" _ **Get out!**_ " Megatron yelled before launching himself at the mech to take his helm from his neck and when he succeeded...

...nothing happened.

The mech stared at the warlord, laughter dancing in the crimson optics. "That won't work."

Megatron glared at him, his own optics alight with growing fury, "I said get out."

The mech smirked. "You can't tell me what to do... I'm not like _her."_ He pushed without much effort past the warlord to get to Megatron's berth. "Reading personal property?" He made a mocking 'tsk-tsk' sound with his mouth. "That is very uneducated." He tossed the diary disdainfully to the floor and grabbed the tyrant.

"Starscream is my property, she owns nothing." Megatron growled, trying to shove the other off.

"You will pay for that... I hate uneducated mechs." The mech purred darkly, disgust clear in his voice.

"I am not uneducated," Megatron thrashed, outraged at hearing an insult frequently used against him in his youth.

"No one belongs to anyone but themselves, no matter what you may think." The mech crooned and Megatron realised he was almost completely immobilised, save for his mouth and vocaliser so he could still talk.

"Wh-what are you doing?" The Warlord's chassis heaved in growing distress as he frantically tried to move, even to simply lift a finger.

"You can't truly believe she belonged to you! She only obeyed you to protect her family. By guiding your wrath towards her, knowing that you would never kill her, your Second, she could shield the others; as you may not have spared the others as you always did her, right? You have to admit, you needed her! Or you would have deactivated her long ago." He moved his hand and a silver, shiny and polished blade was revealed.

"She was a worthless, strutless coward-" Megatron started before his gaze locked onto the blade, optics following it as if hypnotised.

"Just like that vampire... No matter what he did to get rid of her, you only beat her; no matter what your beloved vampire said about her being a traitor! You always kept her around!" The mech snarled, tilting the blade and watching with cruel pleasure as Megatron stared at it.

"Beloved... vampire?" The tyrant mumbled in confusion, more to himself than the mech above him.

The mech straddled him and pointed the blade to Megatron's chest. "Am I right? Answer me! _**No one**_ has a vampire around without knowing! Unless he used his abilities to make you not see him…"

"I didn't... know," Megatron was entranced by the blade, his optics staring fixedly at the glinting point.

"I bet you shared many things with him," The blade travelled up to Megatron's nose. "Now, answer my question... Why did you always keep her around? Admit that you needed her... admit your weakness to me... or do it before the Unmaker!"

"She kept the fliers in line," Megatron whispered, voice as potent as a leaf caught on the breeze. "Ensured their continued loyalty to me."

"Aaaah... that's better," A sadistic smile decorated the darkened mech atop him. "I love when others tell me their deepest and best kept secrets... The energy that is released is just so... _intoxicating_..."

"Why?" Megatron barely breathed, spark seeming to sputter.

"I ask the questions here!" Dark red optics brightened in fury as the blade reached for Megatron's chest again, successfully silencing the tyrant, forcing him to avert his optics in an attempt to pacify the other mech. "Now tell me, sweetspark, did you ever think about bonding with her?" The blade moved in slow, teasing circles on Megatron's chest. "Did you want to do that with her?"

"I wanted to... _keep_ him- _her_. Not bond, never." Megatron snapped, unable to imagine allowing that little glitch so close, to have her connected to him completely and irrevocably; only able to envision it as an invasion of his person, the deepest part of his soul.

"That is _**so**_ selfish." The mech whined as if lamenting the last comment. "But you _**did**_ rape... many people… one of them was the Winglord, am I right? And you fantasize doing the same to his niece?"

"Yes!" Megatron snarled arrogantly.

"How pathetic," His attacker scoffed, nose screwing up in revulsion.

"I'm not pathetic! I'm Lord of the Decepticons!" The tyrant declared in a brief flash of strength which quickly exhausted itself.

"Why? Why always take and never give? Why rape and never please?" The mech questioned, honestly curious.

"Because I never was!" The warlord snapped, long having reached the end of his patience and tenuous self-restraint, he simply lacked the ability to act on his anger.

The mech's optic's ridges lifted incredulously at the excuse. "Really? No one ever pleased you? You were raped? So because you were raped, you rape in turn... I'm sorry but I still think that's pathetic." He fakes a laugh.

"They enjoyed it when I wanted them to," Megatron muttered, somewhat sullen.

"Excuse me?" He had barely heard the tyrant's words.

"They enjoyed it when I wanted them to!" Megatron half-shouted.

"That is _**so**_ selfish... you are amazingly egotistical... I'll enjoy every last drop of life you give..." The room somehow darkened further and a glowing circle drew itself around them and as it completed the mech started chanting in a strange language Megatron had never heard before. Using his blade the attacker started drawing intricate and delicate glyps all over the Decepticon Lord's armour.

The itch it created was almost unbearable.

"St-stop!" Megatron choked, trying ineffectually to squirm away, or jolt the other off him but the mech didn't seem to hear him as he continued chanting and drawing in that odd, ancient language...

"What are you _doing_?! Stop!" Megatron's optics darkened in unvoiced fear. He was living through exactly what he had read in the diary, what Starscream mentioned her sire was going to do to Skywarp, unable to move just like them. "St-st-stop," He whispered, unable to keep himself from stammering, but the mech continued drawing and chanting as if possessed, progressing from Megatron's hips, and then on to his legs once the upper body was finished.

Megatron's mouth opened and closed silently, incapable of speaking further as the mech finally stopped his sketching, but not his chanting, not yet. He then returned to the Decepticon leader's torso and set the blade there, the point pointing to the warlord's chin, and pressed forward hard, chanting louder this time; the glyphs suddenly lightening at this gesture, Megatron feeling his body being burned as if the markings were somehow being welded into his protoform skin...

A loud, agonized howl was torn from the warlord's vocaliser as something seared him as nothing before had ever done in his life, feeling the intense sensation- though it was mostly in his processor- of his armour being melted by an intense heat.

And he lost conscious in a blaze of agony.

Hours later he felt something probing at his port and his optics snapped online at the mere idea of something entering him. "What the frag are you doing?!" He was laid spread-eagled on his berth, tattooed and armour-less and… a mech who had tortured him was probing at his port!

"Welcome back, sweetspark." The mech purred, a mock-affectionate look on his faceplates.

...

"'Wh-what?" Megatron whispered, attempting to move through the thick fog trying to suffocate his mind.

"I don't know if you enjoyed that as much as I did..." A thick finger suddenly broke through the resistance of his very dry port.

Megatron hissed, trying to pull away from the sharp sensation, "Stop!" He ordered once more, unable to break the habit of millions of years of expecting obedience from all those around him, despite rationally knowing that the act would be fruitless.

"Stop? Why? I've only just started." Another finger entered him beside the first, stretching him painfully.

"Get-get off," It was intended to be a snarl, but came out as more of a squeak.

The mech chuckled. "How many mechs and femmes begged you the same? How many times was the Winglord able to ask it?" And a third finger eased in, all of them pumping in and out of the dry port in tandem, which caused painful friction within the warlord.

"I gave him his chance," Megatron's chassis heaved, his valve constricting to try and push the digits out, but inadvertently drawing them deeper. "Frag... fragger."

"Really?" He finally withdrew his fingers, in a sharp, fast movement causing the other to scream in pain. "I think I have to give you the same chance, don't I?"

"Chance?" Megatron muttered, optics radiating confusion when his yell tapered off, leaving his vocaliser ragged.

Without any further warning- barring a creepy smirk- the mech slammed his thick, hard and hot spike into the dry and unprepared entrance, not stopping for a second until he had fully hilted himself.

Megatron's vocaliser glitched, his optics rolling back in his helm in agony as his mouth fell open in a silent keen, opening and closing as he tried to scream out his agony and curse at his attacker... His claws flexed spasmodically on the berth as he shuddered, processor temporarily whiting out as he drowned in anguish.

"Now, tell me how it feels now you have been granted the same 'chance' you gave the others! How does it _**feel?!**_ " He began a brutal, animalistic pace, savouring the tight, unused and unready walls of the warlord as Megatron slowly grew wet, but not with lubricant. "Your beloved vampire already paid for his part in your crimes, you disgusting piece of slag! Now you know _exactly_ what you did!" The thrusts increased even further in aggressiveness and Megatron's screams of pain grew louder in response, even losing his self-respect as he began to beg for help.

::"Someone- _frag it_ \- anyone… Come to my quarters at once! Your Lord commands it…! Help me!":: Megatron yelled through the open comm lines, intending to shoot anyone who saw him in this position once they had assisted him.

Help which never came...

...And only static answered him.

The mech above him gave into his pleasure and continued ravishing the warlord mercilessly.

Megatron's sounds of suffering filled and echoed down the dark passageways as they travelled through the wide open door, the mech having left it gaping, safe in the knowledge that no one would interrupt them.

"Stop!" Megatron shrieked; voice even more shrill than Starscream's when she begged him for her life after a supposed failed coup.

"Hmmm... so tight! When was the last time someone fragged you?!" The other ignored his partner's pleas and continued with his torture, faceplates twisted in sadistic delight.

"Never!" Megatron growled, throat raw, and insulted that anyone would think he had ever lowered himself such.

"Aaa-ah... never? Even better!" Those words were like fuel to the fire as the ferociousness of the attack increased, energon blood from the port starting to ooze out each time the spike withdrew and shoved back in.

Megatron's speech dissolved into cursing. Calling the mech all the insulting names he could bring to processor, in Cybertronian, human languages and several other planet's tongues he had heard in passing... Before abruptly falling limp of the berth as his energy began to truly abandon him, leaving him even more vulnerable and exposed than he had been mere moments before.

" _ **Yes!**_ I love feeling when you release your energy, the real you, but I want more! _**More**_! I'm _**hungry!**_ " And two sharp pointed fangs dropped down from the mech's mouth as he lowered his helm towards the forcibly tamed warlord's neck, stabbing the other with them and painfully ripping off and through cables to drinking deep of Megatron's energon and soul.

Megatron lay docile on the berth, staring sightlessly with dull pink optics at the wall. However, the mech didn't drain all his life, wanting to play with his meal just a little longer and focussing on pounding over and over again until overload assumed control of him, sending his frame spasming and hot, sticky and acidic -for the critically damaged port- transfluid was released into the tyrant with a long shout of utter pleasure.

Throughout the supping, Megatron remained motionless despite the agony, only the briefest of grimaces passing across his faceplates from time to time as his final defeat began to draw to a close; energon loss making his thoughts sluggish as his frame felt unnaturally warm…

The mech above him removed his spike ruthlessly fast on purpose, slapping the other across the faceplate to force Megatron to focus on him. "Hey! Wake up! It's not over yet..."

"Not... Not over?" Megatron mumbled, bewildered at what else there could be. He didn't know how humiliating and painful being raped truly was; he had enjoyed them so much in the past, but now...

" _Yes_..." The mech's frame slinked downwards, taking Megatron's spike firmly in his left hand and with his right one, the silver blade.

"No... No, don't..." Megatron whispered; optics dimming further in an unconscious attempt to deny the presence of the knife, to hide from it.

The other just chuckled darkly. "No? No what?"

"Pl-please?" Megatron managed after a moment, humiliation flushing his faceplates.

"Please what? Please no _what…?_ My, my… it appears I've found your favourite toy." He traced the sharp tip of the blade over the head and down the length, reaching his knot before going up to the head once more, the action causing little hurts that started bleeding.

A quiet whimper broke from Megatron's vocaliser, though he would deny he could make such a sound. "Don't damage it. Please."

The mech laughed at his pleading cruelly. "How many times were you asked the very same, I wonder? And how many times did you decline to grant the request?" The blade sharply thrust into the spike, impaling it like a brochette, but without yet removing it from its owner.

Megatron's optics whited out in agony, the room being lost in a blanket in what his addled processor insisted was snow as the energon ran cold in his lines.

The mech waited patiently until the other stopped screaming, allowing the shrieks to die down before _twisting_ the blade, earning him another rain of cries and howls from the warlord as his face remained cold and emotionless as he watched the show play out before him.

"Wh-why?" Megatron asked, barely audible as his vocaliser filled with static, wondering distantly what he had done to this mech to evoke such hatred... Perhaps it was an Autobot gone mad or a rogue from his own faction seeking to end him out of some kind of unresolved spite… though he knew of none in either who possessed the abilities of his attacker…

"Because- just like you said to all your past victims- because I _can_." He tore the blade from the spike after rotating it a couple times, shredding delicate circuitry, and then pinched the head of the shivering length, screwing the tip of the knife in a little, forming a growing, _bleeding_ hole in the ugly, defiled metal.

Megatron shuddered and looked away, not strong enough to do much else, trying to blink away the agony. "H-how do you know-?"

"I know everything... and do _you_ know what else?" He set his hand on the warlord's chest in a possessive gesture. "I'm growing tired of you trying to hold in all that energy... so... _**let it out**_!" And he pressed his servos into the Decepticon leader's chest, the tattoos beginning to glow in answer to his touch, and burning Megatron from the inside out, incinerating the last remnants of his resistance.

Megatron arched from the berth, howling as his energy flowed out of him in tsunami-like gushes. He thrashed as if bound, unable to move half as much as his frame demanded in his struggle to stay alive through the torment.

" _ **Yes!**_ " The mech sank down, seeking out Megatron's neck again and drinking from the remains of his energon once more, slicing the blade all the way down from the tip of the spike to the bottom, opening it fully and separating it clean in half.

Megatron dropped offline in a storm of anguished agony, frame arching once more before falling, as if lifeless, to the berth.

The mech watched in amusement. "Oops... I think I'll need to wait for him to awake." A warped grin covered his darkened face, highlighting his energon-stained fangs. "Or… maybe not..." And pointing the blade to the tyrant's chest he called him back, a calling no one could ever resist.

Megatron onlined again, systems as responsive as lead as he breathed heavily, frame unable to really put the air to use.

"Good to have you back... we're not done yet!" The mech grinned down on him like a favoured playmate.

"Still?" Megatron whimpered; a nugget of a whine in his tone.

"We will carry on until the last drop of your life is drained, and I like to play with my meal... _But…_ I _am_ hungry…" Somehow and from somewhere, little burning acid drops fell on Megatron's now split spike as the mech ravished his neck, each time inducing as much agony in the warlord as he possibly could.

Megatron howled and thrashed, pleading incoherently and cursing in pain.

This time, the mech didn't hold back and started to consume the rest of Megatron's life force. To the mech, the agony the warlord suffered was as intoxicating as the finest high grade! But he was still so _hungry_... He _needed_ more... but it was too late... this one was already finished with and all but done. He couldn't hold out more, he had been in the dark for so long, now he needed all the life he could get!

Megatron's life essence was fading fast just as the volume of his screaming, and he stared up at his murderer with barely conscious optics one more time.

"You shouldn't have read private property if you didn't want to know how the true owner felt... or if it was real." The mech whispered before concluding with the Decepticon leader.

Megatron's frame slumped, colour fading to a lifeless grey as his optics flickered once, twice before sputtering out altogether, engines giving a final, whining rev before falling silent, energon lines empty of life-giving fluid.

The mech lifted himself from the fallen warlord and looked over the spectacle as if it was a masterpiece. Retrieving the diary, he tossed it on the dead's tattooed and naked chest. "Liar." he condemned then simply walked away.

...

* * *

Hook and Scrapper jumped, unable to avoid hearing all the screaming beyond the safety of the med-bay doors.

"I think we should-" Scrapper tried shakily but was interrupted by a hushed yell.

" _ **Don't**_...! ...You say that! Don't even think about it!" Hook advised.

"I was going to say that maybe we need to protect that door with more things, create a _physical_ barrier... Who knows what's happening out there and I don't want risk going to find out until not a single sound can be heard!" The gestalt leader eyed the door warily.

Hook let out a long gasp and looked at his brother, relieved that he didn't want to leave their secure sanctuary to see what was possibly happening outside with that vampire prowling around. Besides, no one ever had ever known, to his knowledge, that their species could even have such creatures. Who knew what strengths and abilities Soundwave possessed…

"We will remain here, we are the only ones left to look after everyone." Scrapper set a hand on his brother's shoulder, lightly squeezing.

Hook grimaced. "I wonder what fate has prepared for us… I'd never thought that the war would end like this..."

"The war is not over yet, there are more Decepticons on Cybertron, in the universe, we will never be alone, Hook." Scrapper attempted to reassure, remaining close to his brother.

"I don't know... but I've got a bad feeling." Hook's optics radiated anxiety, engines sputtering quietly.

The two constructicons stayed behind the shielded doors even when they heard a comrade's screams for help... After all, if they left there to try and save whoever was in trouble, who would then help them?

...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: you my beloved reviewers are so awesome, I love you all SO much THANK YOU
> 
> Betaed by: Angelcakes19 who also played as Megatron in his last scene, xoxo!
> 
> Thank you for reading and please review :)


	18. Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: Language, vampirism, character death and mentions of past abuse.

**Chapter Fourteen**

And there she was again, another failed raid and dragging her aft back to base all by herself. It was hard to convince her cousins and bodyguards to leave her behind, but if they wanted to continue with the charade of Megatron believing they are nothing to each other, they needed to reinforce the illusion by acting like it.

"Fragging Megatron... Ouch... My... my... everything... I think I shouldn't have sent them away..." Starscream lay on the dirt floor looking up at nothing and lamenting her misery... again.

Suddenly, a sound was heard; it was faint, but was definitely there… She briefly hesitated but her curiosity soon got the best of her.

She dragged herself to the source of stifled noises, quietly removing some bushes from her path.

There was a lake, beautiful and serene looking, deep and calm. The trees sung around them as the wind caressed their frames and hid the sounds she made, but not the soft noises another mech was making, sounds of pain and agony... muffled, but clearly despairing sounds.

Starscream covered her mouth as a loud sigh tried to escape her lips at the sight that greeted her:

There was Soundwave, with another mech, an Autobot, who was trying to scream as thick tentacles restrained him while the owner of the appendages sunk his sharp dentals into his neck, drinking all of his energon blood.

She kept looking until Soundwave's victim fell to the ground with a rustling of leaves, dead and greying, and she could take a look at the telepath's face for the first time ever. Bathed in sunlight and mouth stained with energon, it was the most beautiful and horrific face she'd ever seen... but that was not by all means all...

If her optics were not suffering some kind of damage, said handsome face was...shining? With the sunlight? Like glitter?

The Vossian femme could not believe what her possibly malfunctioning vision was seeing, maybe she was hallucinating?

In that moment, Soundwave turned to her and looked her straight in the optics and she panicked just before someone roughly grabbed her and turned her around, pushing her on her back...

Soundwave and his creepy _glitter_ face looked down on her from his position looming above her and she hadn't thought twice before using _it_ again to escape, not even considering how much it would hurt later.

And then she could hear voices when trying to breathe deeply after one of the most eeriest experiences of her life…!

Why was she hearing voices again? Who are... ' _Wait... is that... light?'_

_..._

* * *

"Good, we will start now. I have already assigned responsibilities to each one of us, so we will take different cases and she will be ready within a few weeks, possibly only days if we work hard." Ratchet addressed and explained to his team.

"Humm... Ratchet?" Swoop hesitantly addressed his mentor.

"What?!" He really didn't have time for this so he barked at the Dinobot.

"Him Starscream... awake."

The young Dinobot pointed to the awakening seeker in a hurry and Ratchet rushed over to her before running to press the button that would sedate her again. That would keep her asleep until they had finished.

The seeker relaxed visibly and the CMO looked up to everybody else. "She's waking up, but that doesn't mean she's fully recovered; we need to work fast or she will not be ready... ever."

The other medics and scientists nodded and took the datapads Ratchet offered them earlier before taking a look at the task they would be individually handling.

Wheeljack looked worried at his particular task. "Why should I take care of this part?"

"You will be working with me, don't worry... and it is because it is the most damaged part of her... it is very complicated internal damage and I know you studied the part as part of your hobby so, you know more about it than any one of us.."

The engineer looked even more worried as he read further down the datapad. "Ok... I hope we can do this..."

"We will, and I suggest we start right now, we have no time to lose."

…

* * *

It had been weeks since the medics and scientists had started fixing and modifying the seeker, and if once the challenge was to keep Starscream from dying, the new challenge was to keep her from awakening as more and more doses of the tranquilizer was injected into her; even if Ratchet forced her processor to remain in a forced stasis, she somehow always found a way out.

Now he really hated this seeker.

"Ratchet, I think this is it. Now her own systems need to accommodate to the new adjustments she probably never had before; I just hope she doesn't feel weird or we didn't do anything-"

"For Primus' sake, Wheeljack, drop it! She will be fine. We checked everything and she will function properly now. All we need is to retrieve her layers of armour, dress her and wait until she awakes before calling Prime; he wants to talk to her."

"I don't know, Ratch. She will be very upset when she awakes and finds out...everything... I cannot even count how many things she will realize that we shouldn't know or shouldn't have happen-."

"You worry too much 'Jack, she's a big femme, a little immature perhaps, but she will be OK... and don't give me that look!"

Wheeljack still looked at her with worried optics. "I just hope she doesn't explode or something like that when Prime tells her why he wanted her to be fully functional... that may devastate her."

"That is not our business 'Jack, it is between Prime and Starscream and we should not intervene." Ratchet tried to reassure himself but even he knew that...

"This is _wrong_ , Ratch, it is wrong and you know it! It doesn't matter if it's a 'con who its being done to, it is not fair!"

"She's our _enemy_ and she would have done far worse if any of us were in her situation, I know because I've heard what is said of her, how she experimented on war prisoners! Autobots, their families…!"

"So, you think she deserves it?! She deserves the life Prime has prepared for her?! After everything she was?!"

"It is that or prison! She will be judged for her crimes! She's a war criminal!" Ratchet barked back.

"There have been crimes committed on both sides! Not just the 'cons! I'm a scientist and I don't have a side but the side of science and truth, and you should do the same!" Wheeljack countered.

"That's because you didn't saw her fight! You didn't saw her killing!" Ratchet's engines vibrated in anger.

"No, but I saw _**you**_ killing! You, a medic, a protector of life!" Wheeljack snapped before covering the place his mouth should be under his mask once he realized what he had said.

An awkward silence followed before the frowning medic answered. "Yes, I did, because we are at war and we have been for eons! And if Prime is doing this to her it is because it means we won the war!"

Wheeljack shook his head, his blue optics shining worriedly and sadly. "That doesn't make you better than her, Megatron or Prime." Then he walked away from the CMO and out of the med-bay with a heavy spark.

Ratchet then directed his gaze to the sleeping seeker. "I really hate you, you know?" He let out a long sigh and buried his face in his hands before mumbling. "This is not my business, this should not affect me, this is not... this is not right." He had to admit, even just to himself, in the end.

...

* * *

Starscream felt heavy, tired, ill... but somehow also lifted and healed; it was weird, she just wished to return to sleep as her optics felt sore.

But she couldn't... she needed to find her cousins and with that thought in mind she painfully opened her optics and onlined them only to find an orange roof over her head and an angry Autobot medic standing over her... and of course, she was restrained to the berth.

"Good morning, lady." The CMO greeted and her optics widened in shock.

' _No, please no,'_ she thought as a knot formed in her throat and her fist balled.

"Take it easy, lady, we mean no harm..." The medic started but she was unable to hear him as thoughts of her being dead being a better option than her gender being discovered by the Autobots swarmed her mind. "Calm down, Starscream, stop pulling at your restraints, you're too weak still and you're going to damage yourself."

" _ **No!**_ Frag you! Let me go! Release me at once you fragging afthole!" She thrashed violently.

"That is not the vocabulary of a lady, now is it, Starscream?" The CMO was making fun of her and she knew it and let them know it by screaming out loud, a high-pitched screech that forced Perceptor, Ratchet, Swoop and First Aid to all cover their audios in pain until she had finished, panting air heavily.

Then she freaked out again. "Where is my armour?! Give it back! Give _**it back!**_ " She yelled at all those present, still struggling with her restraints.

"You're in no position to be claiming or asking for anything, not even negotiating so, Starscream, shut up!" The CMO barked at her indignant face.

She frowned before growling and snarling at him and finally fighting her restraints with more vigour and strength than before, succeeding in breaking one of them and then another. The medics looked on for a few moments before attempting to restrain and sedate her again. "Let me _**go!**_ " She demanded as the four medics took her by the arms and legs before Ratchet appeared in her line of sight, wielding a syringe. "Don't you _**dare!**_ " She started screaming again and First Aid clamped his hand over her mouth, successfully cutting her off, before she bit him hard which caused the young medic to punch her in the face... or rather attempt to as she dodged him and he hit Swoop instead. She was still holding his hand in her mouth when the younger tried to punch her again but again missing and this time hitting, somehow, Perceptor.

She managed to get one arm and her two legs free and used them to get free from the remaining medics, beginning to run for the exit of the med-bay. However, Ratchet tackled her from the waist and, fast as lighting, emptied the contents of the syringe into the back of her neck, calming her down but not forcing her into recharge.

Starscream felt her body growing lax and heavy but not enough to force a recharge or stasis. "What do you want?" She finally asked, a little dizzy.

"Optimus Prime wishes to speak with you, he's the one you should ask that question, not us." The CMO informed her before lifting her by the arm and tossing her on her berth again. "You have no idea how annoying you can be, even in stasis."

She scowled at him and the others. "I want my armour back; my family gave them to me." No one seemed to listen to her so she whispered. "It is all I got from them..."

Perceptor heard her and came up next to her. "They were confiscated by the Prime," He answered. "You should talk to him if you want them back. I suggest you to be polite when you ask him because he believes you won't need them again."

Starscream didn't like that statement and frowned at the scientist with mistrust, but kept her silence.

"But maybe, if you cooperate, they could be returned to you... eventually." Perceptor added.

She growled at him in answer.

"We need to ask you some questions," the scientist started, "First of all, where did you get those tattoos all over your body?"

The nasty scowl she gave him should have been enough answer, but still she snapped, "None of your business!"

He nodded and continued. "Who gave them to you? They are as old as you are, so somebody would have welded them on you when you were a sparkling. Tell me… was it your sire?" She just snarled back with a look full of hate, baring her pointy fangs in warning.

Perceptor just nodded and walked away before Ratchet returned and lifted her up. "The Prime wishes to see you now, I'll take you to him as you're still suffering the effects of sedation. So don't you dare to do anything!"

The CMO took hold of her arm again and made her stand before walking them out of the med-bay. Since her first layer of armour was all white with little hints of red and blue, Ratchet hoped no one would recognize her in their path.

He was wrong...

She did call the attention of many mechs as they came up close, trying to touch her wings or other parts of her body, some others stared and yet others whistled and 'suggested' the CMO share her with them. And of course the twins were there, being part of the choir and adding in some ideas for the others as Sideswipe named her 'Starbitch'.

Luckily for her, the CMO didn't tolerate such behaviour and all those who dared to lay a finger on her received a hard hit with his favourite wrench and, once he finally grew completely tired of it, he left her against a wall and took care of all those malicious mechs who ran away as if Unicron himself was after their aft.

"That will do it." He nodded, turning back to her and indicating for them to resume their walking.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evil cliffhanger, I know... but this chapter was getting too long.. so I separated it in 2... can you guess what it will be about?
> 
> Betaed by: Angelcakes19
> 
> Thank you for reading and please don't forget to review you know I love your words :) and if you have sugestions or ideas for me to improve, it will be even better :D


	19. Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: languaje and mentions of past abuse....  
> Beta: Angelcakes19  
> ...

**Chapter fifteen**

Starscream felt as if walking to her own execution...

She wondered what the Prime would want with her... Well... what wouldn't he want with her? She was everything but strong, they could do with her as they pleased and that worried her even more as different and terrifying scenarios ran through her processor…

When they arrived to their destination, the Prime was already waiting for them and accompanying him was the femme Commander, Elita One. Both were sitting at one side of a big meeting table and both greeted her politely when she entered.

"Please, Starscream, take a seat." The Prime offered and she slowly did as indicated, the CMO going to sit beside the Prime, facing her.

An awkward silence followed for a while before the Prime decided to speak. "Starscream, I'm sure you can imagine our surprise when we found out your... gender."

She scowled but didn't say a word, so the Prime continued. "Also, it's been months since the last time we received any alert of any Decepticon activity, so I want to propose to you something." Her grim countenance intensified. "You will-" he was about to say but was interrupted by another mech with a blue and white colour scheme entering the conference room.

"Ah, excuse me, sir. I'm sorry for being late." This new mech looked so much like the Prime, Starscream noticed curiously.

"Ultra Magnus, welcome, please take a seat." The Prime motioned with his hand where his brother should sit and the blue and white mech first looked at her and then at her wings before sitting down two seats away from her. Still, he didn't say a word even as from the corner of his optics he tried to analyse the seeker femme and found himself suspicious of his brother's intentions for him being there...

Elita One seemed worried about something even as her face fights to remain neutral and Starscream stared around in a bizarre mixture of defiance and unease, hating being laughed at and gossiped about, and wondering about what was going through the Prime's processor in regards to her.

"You need to know why are you here, Starscream," the Prime stated, "There has been a long time since we have received any signal of any Decepticon activity and they have obviously been unable to harvest for any source of energy."

The seeker glared in unvoiced hostility. This mech was responsible for much death, Ramjet's trine's deaths and she owed him _nothing_ , Matrix bearer or not.

"I apologize for it, but we couldn't afford for them to keep destroying this planet. Its inhabitants gave us an ultimatum and we had to act upon it; but what worries me most is the lack of activity from your faction, so… I will need you to provide us with the codes to access the Nemesis..."

"The people of this planet mean nothing to me and nor should they to you. In your mindless protection of them you have forgotten your obligation to protect and preserve _our_ race, _our_ planet. That you would destroy your own people on their behalf proves you have lost sight of your responsibilities and the reason for your function. And provide you with codes to the Nemesis? What, so you can kill more of my comrades? Get _deactivated_ you false Prime!" Starscream ranted, though she meant every word and the emotions behind them.

Optimus Prime's face showed barely a trace of empathy. "I will not kill them, Starscream, and I know you really don't mean it when you said you don't care about this planet; I've seen you fly around it and enjoy its resources like its superb rivers and forests. What I mean is to save them; I want _all_ Cybertronians to be free..."

Meanwhile Ultra Magnus frowned in suspicion of his brother's true intentions. He knew the elder after all.

"I am a _Decepticon_ you fool! Of course you intend harm to them; you cannot lie to a liar! I like this planet's unpolluted skies, but I despise its people! Even more now after what you've done on their orders!" The Seeker talons flexed in building rage, tinged with grief.

"It was me or Megatron, Starscream, I had to get rid of him just like he had to get rid of me. The war would have never ended with both of us standing and you know that. And yes, the humans are not the best of the best, but this is _**their**_ planet, not ours. They accepted us and we will honour that."

The Prime paused contemplatively, and then quickly continued before she could interrupt him. "Besides, don't tell me you wouldn't be better off without Megatron. After all, weren't you the one who has been trying to get rid of him all this time?"

Starscream sputtered indignantly. "What has that got to do with you?!"

Optimus took a deep breath. "Starscream, we need the codes now so we can act fast to save your comrades, your comrades who are likely starving as we speak, and I want to save as many as I can. We can get the codes with time but I fear it might be too late by then. Besides, you can stay with us, here you will have a safe home and a steady supply of fuel, and we will look after you and your comrades..."

"Like you ' _looked after'_ the others, you fragger? How can I trust you, why should I?!" The femme spat.

"Because I'm telling the truth... you will be looked after and taken care of, and I really regret what I did to your other Decepticon partners but I found myself in such a position that I had to act; tell me what you would have done in my place?" Optimus indicated for Starscream to answer, honestly curious.

"Not bowed to _human_ pressure and acted in such a dishonourable manner." Starscream's optics furrowed and her nasal ridges twisted in revulsion.

"Are you sure? I'm talking to the _**real**_ Starscream here, the one who was once a pacifistic scientist, not a cold blooded murderer." Optimus leaned in towards her.

The seeker laughed bitterly. "Cold blooded murderer? And what does that make you, a saint of Primus?"

"I'm no saint, but I'm the chosen one of Primus himself and _**he**_ guides me. Now, Starscream, stop wasting my time, the remaining time of your remaining comrades… So, would you be so kind to give us the codes? Now?"

Starscream looked away in anger, somehow she is suspicious that there was something else going on, but… the Prime was right, her last remaining comrades needed help. She could feel it, somehow, even more so if her cousins were still alive. That thought made her optics widen in anxiety. " _Fine!_ What else do you want?"

Optimus Prime nods and takes another breath, and Elita and Ratchet tense in response. "We need to discuss something else and this time it includes you, Ultra Magnus." That caused Magnus to frown.

"Starscream, as I said before it was a surprise for us to find out your true gender and maybe that is the only reason you are still alive and here-"

Ultra Magnus' frown deepened.

"Get to the point!" The seeker demanded impatiently.

"We, Autobots, look after the femmes, femmes are the most precious thing Primus could have produced ever..." The Prime trailed off looking at Magnus and his brother gulped at the scrutiny, an unseen tremor running through his body as his breathing accelerated.

"That is what I meant when I said that you will be looked after and taken care of... Ultra Magnus, my brother will be looking after you."

Starscream's jaw fell open just like Ratchet's "I am not a sparkling requiring a sitter!"

"Let me finish! He will be your mate and I do intend to initiate the program to re-populate our planet once the war is over, to make it law that all femmes and bonded couples will be required to breed at least a sparkling per vorn..."

Ultra Magnus choked in astonishment. "...Brother... please... no..."

"And who are you to determine what femmes will do?! Have you no respect for us at all? This was why the war began in the first place, Autobots interfering in things they had no business to." She declared, optics locked on Ultra Magnus curiously as she wondered what was wrong with him.

The blue and white mech next to her shuddered and looked pleadingly to Optimus, "Please, no..." He tried again.

"I am the Prime and I listen to what Primus tells me to do, and he tells me to do this in order to continue with his mission, and I know that my brother will look after you." His face was as impassive as a rock.

"N-not with... _this_!" He shivered and gestured at Starscream. "At least let me choose!"

"No! Absolutely not!" Starscream yelled, wings flying up in a defensive gesture.

"It is too late for that, brother, and you know it..." The Prime continued, "Starscream... this is not your choice, you _**will**_ do as ordered and you will be Ultra Magnus's mate and will mate with him as mates do!"

Ultra Magnus felt shock roll through him in waves but managed somehow to cry out, " _ **No!**_ You... you...you gotta be kidding me! This must be some kind of weird nightmare!"

"I assure you, brother, that this is very real." Optimus informed him, voice almost formal.

That last comment made poor Ultra Magnus take hold of his head as his spark sank in its chamber " _ **No!**_ I refuse to be near... near... _**this!**_ This Decepticon!"

"As ordered? Who do you think you are, Megatron?!" The seeker femme squeaked, voice high-pitched.

Optimus Prime's right optic twitched. "I'm no Megatron, because he would have kept you for his own amusement until you were no more than a pleasurebot drone. I know my brother here would never do that to you and that is why I'm choosing him for you."

"I am perfectly capable of choosing for myself!" Starscream bit out.

"No, you're not, I've read Ratchet's report on you and I know you were abused as a sparkling, and would have never chosen a mate even if a suitor offered you Cybertron!" The Autobot leader bit back.

Ultra Magnus' optics widened and he stared at her in hopeless disbelief. "A-aaaaa-an abused femme?! _**Even worse! No**_ way! Who knows what trauma she drags along behind her!"

The Prime sighed and answered, "None, and you will look after her regardless."

Elita shook her head despairingly and Ratchet offlined his optics at that particular comment, but neither of them dared to utter a word.

"You presume a Pit of a lot Prime! How dare you say you know my processor! You know nothing about me... Or femmes, if your mate's reaction is anything to go by!" Starscream gestured to Elita who raised an unimpressed optic ridge.

"I know a lot of things, Starscream, and now I can also understand your previous behaviour. You were trying to look strong and evil just to hide your own suffering... Please tell me one thing, was it your sire?"

The flier's optics widened. "That's not _any_ of your business! How dare you ask such personal questions?!"

The leader nodded, knowingly. "That answers my question... Brother, make sure she's comfortable-"

" _ **Comfortable?!**_ " Ultra Magnus snapped uncharacteristically. "I will not even share a... a... the _air_ with... with... _**this**_!" He pointed at her scornfully, "I don't even know what _this_ is!"

Starscream didn't know who to be angrier with. " _This?!_ " She yelled at Ultra Magnus before whirling on Optimus. "You... you sick fragger! Arranging for me to be raped and carry the rapist's sparklings!"

Then Ultra Magnus turned to Starscream. " _Rapist?!_ _ **RAPIST?!**_ I would never rape you even if you were the last femme in the universe and I fell prey to heat programing! I would never dare to... to... to even share a berth with you to recharge! I wouldn't even dare to... urghh... touch _**you**_!" His faceplates twisted in disgust.

Elita looked at her mate, silently asking for him to stop them but he was focused on the new 'couple' as Starscream continued. "I was not accusing _you_ , idiot! I was accusing that _fragger_ , your _glitched_ brother! The only way I'm having any sparkling by _any_ of you is through rape. I'll never be willing, _never_!"

"And I will never touch you, _never_!" Ultra Magnus barked at her.

"Good, then you will both recharge in your quarters, Ultra Magnus, and will share the berth." At Prime's all but order, Magnus and Starscream looked at him bewildered, but he continued on regardless. "Maybe then you will be able to get on with each other."

"I'll recharge on the floor first!" Starscream scoffed derisively.

"I will not be sharing my berth with her! It is _**mine!**_ Besides, her wings will take up all the space!"

The Prime shrugged. "Simply solved, I'll get you a bigger one. And no, Starscream, you _will_ use the same berth my brother uses."

"It is not 'simply solved', you _**idiot!**_ How do you intend to get the two of us to bond when we despise each other?!" She shrieked.

"You will together... eventually, with time. I know my brother, and unlike other femmes, Starscream, due to your traumatizing past... I will give you time to heal, emotionally speaking, and will not order my brother to impregnate you right away; all other femmes and bonded couples will be required to do so once the war is officially over." Those words seemed to make Ultra Magnus' face pale even further and barely a whisper left his lips...

" _Order...?_ "

"No, I won't I _**refuse!**_ " Starscream screeched with all her might to put her refusal across.

"It is your duty as a femme, to our species-" Optimus began with an air of arrogance.

"You can't force _**me!**_ " Starscream snarled out adamantly.

"Do _not_ try my patience, Starscream..." He stated in an almost threatening growl that made his mate, CMO and brother jump a little.

"And _**you**_ should not try _**mine**_!" She rose from her chair and glared at him menacingly before dark, spiked lines emerged from her optics to spread across her faceplates. She was utterly enraged that she was not thinking clearly.

All those present stared at her, utterly terrified, before the Prime felt a terrible constriction in his chest...

_The Matrix._

With one last mighty scream, no one knew what happened, just that it happened, the doors exploded and Starscream ran away.

...

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The answer to the BIG question is here... what you think of it? Evil Prime!
> 
> Now, the next question will be, what Star will do? how she will find happiness? D:
> 
> Who is that mech who killed Megatron and Soundwave? Let me give you a clue since you were so nice to me lately... He's the one who in Chapter One told her what to do in order to save her cousins...
> 
> Stay tunned to know more...
> 
> Ah! and please review/comment, you know you want to :D


	20. Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: languaje and mentions of past abuse.
> 
> Beta: Angelcakes19

**Chapter Sixteen**

Starscream ran through the Ark's passageways as fast as she could.

The seeker felt totally and completely helpless, alone, confused and impotent at the situation. She would not do that. There was no possible way that she would submit to the Prime's demands...

...She needed to get out of there.

...

* * *

Red Alert watched as Starscream ran as if she had been given the worst news ever in her existence; maybe he didn't know what the Prime had needed to discuss with her, but he did know that she was not supposed to leave the base... even if she was accompanied.

The security officer gave the alarm of a runaway prisoner before taking his gun and running to the position she was heading in.

...

* * *

Starscream's spark ran as fast as and even faster than she believed her legs were going. All she wanted was to find an exit, to leave this place, to fly off and get away from her problems, away from these suffocating, cruel individuals.

But just as she was reaching the exit, her optics focused on someone who was pointing his gun at her. She could not hear what he was demanding as she speeded towards him; she didn't even see the moment when an invisible individual made her trip and almost fall...

Almost...

But she recovered and kept running, steadying herself with her ailerons to keep her balance. The mech in the entrance wasted no more time and fired his gun at her...

...but missed as her optics turned the darkest crimson they ever had in a very long time before dark marks like spiking vines formed a vicious tattoo on her face.

"What?!" the mech exclaimed as he was obviously waiting for his shot to hit her in her abdomen. By the time he recovered from his baffled stupor it was already too late as she had passed him, tackling him out of her way with barely a pause in her stride.

Not even saluting the beautiful day or stopping to feel the breeze on her wings after so long of being locked in that... prison... she jumped, transformed and fled away as fast as her reputation said she could and far quicker considering her desperate mental state at that moment.

...

* * *

Moments after her departure Optimus Prime, followed closely by the femme Commander, the CMO and Ultra Magnus, came to a stop watching how their seeker escaped as they wondered where she might be going, the Nemesis being in the opposite direction to her flight.

"We have to get her back!" Optimus demanded of his stunned soldiers who stared surprised at the now tiny figure on the faraway horizon.

"I told you she wouldn't be happy!" Elita barked at her mate. "You acted like a complete tyrant with her! What the frag were you thinking?!"

"And what made you think that I would accept it either?!" This time it was Ultra Magnus who protested, his humour having not changed a bit after the Prime's initial demand of what he should do with the seeker.

"We can't discuss this now, we have to find her and bring her back, we need her for-" The Prime stated before being interrupted by his growling CMO who joined the other two in staring daggers at him.

"No one in her position or anyone's position would accept that deal! What are you waiting for? For her, the former Second in Command and Air commander of the _entire_ Decepticon army, a prodigy of science and strategy, to lower herself to being just a simple breeder?! Somebody's whore?! Just because your only excuse is to repopulate our planet and species…?! Being the last of her kin and believing it was us who killed them all, you honestly thought that you might be able to stop her if she suddenly, like now, tried to escape her captors and possible enslavers?! Use your head fraggit!"

It was Optimus' turn to growl to their audience before roaring at them to prepare to bring her back. Then he turned to his mate, CMO and brother. "I know what I'm doing and that is why I chose my brother over everyone else because I know or at least believe he would look after her and eventually care for her, not just because he was at the top of the list to receive a femme the first moment we set optics on a single one! So stop questioning my decisions!"

"Then why do you think she ran away?!" Elita barked at him. "You can't force her to breed, no one would care if you are the Prime then, they would hate you anyway; so stop doing this and release Ultra Magnus and Starscream from this... this condemnation _!"_

"I have made my decision and it is final, it is what Primus wants us to do." Optimus finished and walked away to get ready to get their seeker femme back.

"Primus would never force us to do something like this! Not with a sworn enemy!"

The Prime turned to face his brother at that protest. "She's not our enemy anymore and is your betrothed mate, so you better push those misgivings from your processor and make yourself comfortable with the idea that you will be with her forever."

"I will not bond to her! I don't love her, I don't even know her and I hate her! She killed thousands of Cybertronians in cold blood, I refuse to accept it!"

"Then I demand my rights as your elder brother, the one who protected you and fed you when our creators were offlined. I will make you and your mate obey-"

"She's not my mate!" Ultra Magnus stepped closer in a menacing gesture, barking in his brother's face.

The Prime frowned at his brother. "She is and will be. As your brother I know what's best for you and even if you don't like it I can still force you to obey me! And you will have a mate since you have never chosen one because you obviously can't choose one for yourself."

"That is because I hadn't found anyone-"

"And I found her for you! End of discussion, you know you can't disobey knowing my rights."

"But what about mine?!"

"You lost it when you kept wasting time, now it is my turn to choose for you."

The exchange had been quick, brutal and loud, the two brothers glaring and shouting at each other as the other Autobots watched on silently, utterly dumbstruck. Finally noticing and acknowledging their audience, Optimus ordered the patiently waiting Aerialbots to transform so they could climb into the air and chase down Starscream as Prowl and Red Alert found and monitored the exact location of the flying femme.

Stunned after the show, the soldiers quickly obeyed. In all honesty none of them had expected that the Prime would do that to Starscream... no wonder she flew away. They wouldn't even be surprised if Ultra Magnus flew away to escape that fate as well.

But even then, none of them could object to their Prime, it was how their culture worked and it was too ingrained in their programming for them to even consider disobeying their Prime. They had to obey their Prime as he was the link to Primus himself and therefore his word was law for the Autobots.

"Why couldn't you just kill her and end her misery?!" Ultra Magnus almost snarled at his brother before striding away. He was not going after her, she was the enemy and he was too overwhelmed to think of the right words to describe his situation...

...Or hers...

How was he even supposed to speak to her?

An abused femme when a sparkling, a sworn enemy, an evil high ranking Decepticon air commander and the faction's Second in command, a vicious temper, and Unicron knows what else! After all, that final action of hers didn't seem like anything normal...

Especially as the Matrix reacted to her...

With a long sigh, the blue mech headed to his quarters, not wishing to see or hear anything for the rest of the day... or even his existence.

…

* * *

Starscream realized she was flying faster than usual once she reached a very cold place in the accursed planet she had found herself in... But where was 'here'?

Snow covered the ground and even the vast seemingly empty seas appeared to be frozen, she didn't want to think what would happen to her if she happened to fall into those foreboding depths.

Her locator signalled that 'here' was the North Pole, and she had no idea how she had reached such a place in such a short amount of time... She had been so angry and scared that the first thing that crossed her mind was to fly away as fast as she could. However, even she didn't know she could fly this fast. Maybe it was the lack of her missing three layers of armour that made her more... agile?

But anyway, she needed to land before reaching the next Pole. Besides, she felt a little bit calmer than before and the visibility was fading with every second as a blizzard storm raged through the immense and unpopulated cold lands.

"Fragging bastard!" Starscream couldn't help but scream her vocalizers out and her voice was heard for only a second before the sound was muffled by the increasingly powerful storm. "Ahhh!" A rapidly growing headache made itself known.

Starscream was so pissed off, as well as scared half to death, that she wasn't thinking clearly; it had been so long since the last time she used the accursed powers that spirit provided her in order to save her cousins all those centuries ago... And each time she made use of them, even in the smallest way, the price for breaking the laws of physics made themselves known in a very painful manner.

It was rare that she felt the utter, desperate need to use them; the voices telling her to do so were annoying and demanding enough to not allow her to think of other solutions in extremely stressful situations... And it was even worse when the pain made itself present... They murmured maddeningly what they needed her to do... which of course she normally refused to do.

"Primus..." She moaned in pain, taking her head in her hands as she floated around looking for a place to land.

Finally, seconds later she reached a glacier and decided to land there and wait a little while until the pain had subsided enough to let her continue on; it was all she could think about as her heels touched the snowy and insecure surface...

...Which promptly collapsed with her on tow.

...

* * *

**Meanwhile**...

Optimus and his team located the last place Starscream landed from Superion's insides.

"Prime, she's located in the North Pole and a blizzard is coming right at us; it must be the reason she stopped." Prowl explained as both mechs watched the screen portraying her location.

"Very well. We must get her back, she has what we need to finish this war once and for all and a little storm will not stop us from getting it."

"As you command, sir." The tactician answered before heading to the back of the ship to order the others around and tell them what they needed to do. After all, Starscream might not be heavily armoured and unarmed, but that didn't mean she was not dangerous. She is of course dangerous and her escapade from the Ark was proof enough of that.

They would not take any risks by underestimating her again.

...

* * *

Starscream moaned and whimpered as her whole body ached and she tried to cool it off by burying her head in the snow as well as other parts of her frame.

"Fr-frag it!" She cursed and rolled on her back, also trying to cool off her wings before rolling back onto her cockpit again biting back a cry of pain. She hated the aftereffects of those cursed powers, it was like she was being burnt in the Pit itself and her spark was being consumed or evaporated bit by bit leaving behind an acidic smoke that burnt through her chest.

"H-he... _help me_..." She hissed between gritted teeth. Everything burned, even her tears which seared down her faceplates... She needed her medicine for these occasions, but had no idea how to obtain it from her lab in the Nemesis. Besides, she refused to use the same resources to get in there, she was practically without any protective armour, totally weaponless and had no idea how much time had passed or who was still alive aboard the Decepticon ship...

Except Megatron... The seeker was pretty sure the fragging afthole was still alive living off the energon meant for everybody. Him, and Soundwave; that vampire should have eaten everyone aboard by now. She just hoped that the runes carved around the Med-bay were enough to protect the Constructicons from that creature. After all, Hook was like a creator to her and she was not ready to lose another fatherly figure again.

"Gah!" The seeker bit back a cry as another wave of intense and burning pain assaulted her and she sat on all fours and walked like that to the nearest wall before starting to hit her head against its cold surface over and over again. Maybe if she damaged some neural sensors in her head she could-

Her clouded optics widened at the sight they granted her as she happened to glance up, cutting off her trail of thought.

...

* * *

**Hours later...**

The Autobots finally arrived at the North Pole and descended from Superion once they were sure they were at Starscream's location.

"She's underground! We need to get her, come on, move!" Prowl ordered. A few minutes later he released wires down the hole once they found the one Starscream had fallen into to enable the others to get down there and find their missing flier. The Prime was one of the first to descend.

Cries and moans were heard and the mechs quickened their pace before finding her and...

...And another mech?

'Who is that mech?' Was the question in the Prime's and his two officer's processors.

"Is that... a shuttle?" The CMO asked out loud as they watched the scene. Starscream was on the floor rolling in agony but was clearly trying hard to stay near the other flier. She didn't even seem to notice them... or if she did, she was ignoring them.

"Ratchet!" The Prime ordered the medic to attend her and see what was wrong. But once the three got to her...

"She's burning!" The CMO exclaimed after he touched her for a second, sensitive servo flinching away. He quickly unsubspaced a painkiller and injected it into her neck; however it didn't seem to work as she continued to cry out.

Optimus on the other side of her felt his spark constrict again, but not as hard as the last time, allowing him to hide it this time from everybody.

"Do something! We can't afford to lose her!" The Prime snapped at the CMO who injected another dose of the painkiller into her, not knowing what else he could do. But, as the one before, this one didn't work either.

" _Sky... Sky...! H-help... him_..." Starscream hissed at the Prime, pointing with a trembling finger at the white and frozen shuttle. He was still immobile and unconscious, but at least he was not in an ice prison anymore.

"Hush now, we will help-" The medic flinched as she screamed out loud before quietening again, feeling another shot of painkiller being inserted into her system.

"Th-that will... n-not... w-work!" She whimpered and continued to explain before the medic could reply. "You have... n-nothing that... that will work..."

"Then what-?" Ratchet tried, sympathy swirling in his blue orbs.

"N-nothing, it will pass... e-eventually..." Starscream coughed out painfully.

Optimus understood what it was, somehow... It was the side effects of the abilities she had shown at the Ark; but he still needed to know why the Matrix reacted to her the way it had...

He would find out... soon, just as he would find out the identity of this shuttle.

It was just a matter of time.

...


	21. Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: none.
> 
> Beta: Angelcakes19

**Chapter Seventeen**

The heat was too much for her body... Or at least she thought that because when she had finally made Hook scan her he never found anything wrong or misplaced in her body.

But still... The wave after wave of pain that assaulted her this time gave her the illusion that she was mutating into some kind of starving beast as her claws sharpened just like her fangs.

The Prime and his two officers watched her roll, cry and snarl on the snowy ground with varying expressions. However, none of them were truly of worry and concern.

"A-aaah~!" She half snarled, half roared. It was the hunger that she hated the most. And with so many mechs nearby it made enduring it that much harder.

The voices in her head annoyingly whispered and growled at her to refuel by taking their sparks... And how easy that would be...

"Shut up!" She ordered her tormentors and Optimus lifted an optic ridge, thinking that she might be hallucinating because of the pain.

"Prime, we should move her and return to base, we don't know what is happening to her but it seems it is killing her." Prowl stated in an almost monotone voice that proved how much he really worried for her well-being.

"I would not recommend that, Prime," Ratchet decided to step in for once. "She really _is_ burning... I can't explain it but her spark... The scans show that her spark is the one causing this... As if..." He trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"As if it is being extinguished by it's own power?" The Prime finished and his two officers looked up at him in surprise. "The Matrix can feel her life extinguishing as the result of those abilities she demonstrated earlier. Now I know why it reacted to her like that."

"Optimus! But then that means..." Ratchet said out loud thinking about his conversation with Perceptor on the matter and that, plus the explanation the Prime was giving, formed a whirlwind in his processors that he was unable to put into order.

"We must let her be here for a while... At least until she has calmed a little, then we might be able to move her or talk to her properly again." Was all the CMO could say as the tornado in his mind made itself worse.

"What can you tell us about the shuttle?" The Prime asked, changing the subject.

"He's in stasis and it seems he was frozen for a long time. It will require a lot of power to bring him back online." Ratchet answered succinctly.

"So, he's not dead?" Prowl asked eyeing the shuttle warily.

"No, but he's- _**Prime, watch out**_!" Ratchet yelled before Starscream successfully tackled the distracted Prime and took his gun from him before he could react.

But even before he could give the order to his officers to take it back or they could jump her, he stopped them. "No! Look!" He pointed at her and how she clawed at the metal and bit at it, successfully shredding it as if it was made out of paper with those lethal claws and fangs they now noticed she possessed.

Even Prowl gulped at the sight and the three mechs took several steps back as she directed her murderous gaze towards them. The dark spiked lines like glyphs were covering most of her face and her crimson optics that seemed to burn gave the impression of looking at them and through them at the same time, right into their sparks.

Ratchet and Prowl wasted not another second to point their guns at her. "No!" Prime stopped them again, taking their guns from their owners and throwing them at her.

As she took them and repeated the process she did with the previous one, Optimus could see right through her. "She's fighting something... I knew I was right..." he said it more to himself. "...you're perfect for him."

Prowl and Ratchet could not believe what they were hearing and looked up at their leader in shock.

...

* * *

' _Fragging cursing curse!'_ She growled mentally as she rolled and rolled in the lake that the melted snow had made from the heat of her body. And said body was growing tired, and with it her will and determination to not _feed_ from the present mechs surrounding her. She needed to do something and fast... But what?

With that last thought in mind she passed out, her body going lax as she all but drowned in the little pool of water she had created from the previously densely packed snow.

"Ratchet, Prowl, I think it is over; let's take her and return to the Ark." The Prime ordered, watching his two officers place her on a berth, restrain her and take her back to Superion who was ready to transport her.

Seconds later, other Autobots came and transported the white, frozen and offlined shuttle in after her.

...

* * *

**The Ark...**

**Ultra Magnus' quarters…**.

In the darkness and quietness of his quarters, Magnus couldn't help but meditate on his situation.

"This is awful..." He muttered to himself. "Why Starscream? Why... _Her...?_ Or whatever he or she is... And why _me?_ Of all mechs... Why _**me?!**_ "

The mech hid his face in his hands as if ready to cry out his impotence at the situation. He _had_ to obey the Prime, his elder brother, in all things!

"This can't be happening... Primus, what have I done to offend you?"

He remembered their childhood, long ago back in Iacon. Their creators were offlined by the rebels now known as Decepticons and they had to live under the care of their great grand-sire, Alpha Trion.

Optimus, his elder brother once known as Orion, took particular care of him and he became obsessed with his welfare to the point where he listened to his little brother when Alpha Trion tried to arrange a bond for him and Magnus refused to accept any femme or mech. In the end, the eldest gave up and said he would let him choose by himself under the strict condition that his betrothed would be of a powerful family, possibly royal blood, intelligent and of course it had to be a femme.

Ultra Magnus never had problems with the gender he had by obligation to choose from, but femmes had become rare and scarce since all the families wanted mechs- to create and for their young to bond to- because femmes could not endure in a fight for long. One hit was often enough to have them taken out of battle. They became rarer still when the revolution started and the war broke out.

The femmes were a very useful frame type in peace times. They consumed far less energon than the average mech, could carry multiple times and… were also rather easy on the optics. Unlike a mech who consumed far more energon daily and could carry only a limited amount of sparklings, each time with a higher risk of miscarrying than their femme counterparts.

Optimus, Orion... Was betrothed when a newborn sparkling, to the daughter of a senator and luckily the two got along with each other nicely as friends, and then as bonded. Ultra was happy for his brother, but still, he loved his freedom more and so time passed and almost all high ranked femmes were killed along with their families, making his promise of a femme for a bonded impossible.

Even better for Ultra Magnus, he would not need to sacrifice his independence since all the high ranked femmes available had been offlined. The problem was that even if their great grand sire Alpha Trion had disappeared during one battle thanks to the Decepticons, Optimus still remembered that his brother was still unmated and reminded him of it daily. He even said that he could choose a nice mech for himself.

But no, he didn't choose anyone and Optimus always swore that someday he would find a high ranking femme for him somewhere and would make him bond with her if he didn't have his own bonded by then, but of course Magnus ignored him, foolishly believing that that day would never come.

"Oh no..." He muttered with his hands still covering his face as he remembered the Prime's promise and a muffled groan left his lips.

To his utter horror he realized his brother had kept his word and found him a high ranked femme. Starscream _was_ a high ranked femme. Maybe not of royal blood, but still important in position. "Fraggit!" he cursed as the knowledge came through in his processor. Good thing he never placed a bet or he would have lost it anyway.

"Ultra Magnus?" a soft feminine voice called to him from behind before a hand touched his shoulder.

"What?" He sighed loudly.

"I just want you to know that I support you... _And_ Starscream in this. No one should be forced to bond against their will." She promised gently.

"You support _her?"_ he growled.

"I support both of you. It's pretty obvious that she's not happy with this. She shares the same thoughts and concerns you do. Besides, she was our enemy for so long and made our kind suffer so many things... I understand how you feel." She kept her voice soft.

He shook his head and offlined his optics. "What did I do to anger Primus? Why is he allowing this, 'telling' my brother that this is a good idea?"

She smiled sympathetically at him. "I don't know... But... There is a reason for... Everything..." she trailed off before looking up suddenly.

"What?" Magnus straightened slightly.

"Optimus... They are back... With Starscream." She answered with an ex-vent.

"And...? Why does that concern me?" He almost snapped.

"I think you should go and see her. Something tells me you should." Her tone became distant as she spoke.

Ultra Magnus snorted and shook his head. He would not go and see… _that._

...

* * *

It was late at night and Ratchet, with Perceptor, tried their hardest to keep Starscream from offlining herself as those attacks she suffered from returned with a vengeance.

"Why don't you just give us the codes to the Nemesis and we will leave you alone in a forced stasis?!" Ratchet barked at her, losing what little patience he had.

"Don't you dare to talk to me like that you old rusted tin can!" She bit back, trying her best not to just jump at him and tear him into shreds as she clenched and unclenched her deadly claws. "Hmmm!" she bit back a cry as her scars started lightening up again and burning her badly.

The medic and the scientist stared in awe at the scene before she broke her restraints again and fell onto the floor, clawing at it desperately. " _Fraggers!_ Can't you at least make decent restraints?! Do you want to _**die?!"**_

The way she uttered those words made even Perceptor flinch.

"Then tell us what to do." Someone they never expected to see or hear at that moment spoke as he reached for her and set her back delicately on another berth.

"Ultra Magnus? What are you doing here?! Don't touch her! She's dangerous!" Ratchet tried to warn him. But strangely Starscream didn't attack him, just stared straight into his blue optics in silence and wonder.

"Please..." She whispered and he frowned.

"How... You...?" he asked her, confused.

Somehow she reached for his comm-link and talked to him through it. And here he thought she was without such a device.

": _Listen to me carefully... Here are the codes your glitched brother wants... But I need something from you...:"_ She informed him, keeping their optics locked.

He grimaced. _":Why should I listen to you or even give you anything?:"_

 _":Because if you don't I'll kill everyone here and I won't be able to stop myself!:"_ Starscream's voice became louder in frustration.

 _":Are you threatening me? You think I'm scared of Decepticon scum like you?!:"_ His glower and grim mood intensified.

 _":This is more than you can understand... I will not be myself once I lose consciousness again... I know... I can feel it. I can only think of a thousand ways of making you scream as I take your life...:"_ She winced, trying to shaking those thoughts from her head as if they were repulsive. _":I do not want to do it... It is not me... It is... Something else I can't explain!:"_

 _":Well... Do it now!:"_ He demanded.

 _":There's no time! Please... I don't want to become... A monster... Like_ _ **him**_ _.:"_ She pleaded with an irritated sigh.

Ultra Magnus lifted an optic ridge wondering who this 'him' might be, and then glowered back. _":What is it that you need so urgently?:"_

She nodded and something that seemed like a memory filled his processor... _":It is my medicine... It will prevent me from transforming into a monster. I need it now!:"_

Then another memory of her injecting herself with it before everything turned blurry and then black. _":A paralyzer?:"_ He asked and she nodded. _":What are you? What is going on? And who is 'he'?!:"_

 _":I'll kindly answer that to_ _ **you**_ _once I get what I need.:"_ She answered firmly. He frowned but nodded in agreement nonetheless and proceeded on releasing her, but then she took him by the wrist to still him. _":There is something else I need from the Nemesis...:"_ She hurried to add. " _:It is a datapad...:"_ More images like memories were introduced to him of her writing on then offlining the datapad... A lavender datapad without a name. _":It is my diary... It is personal so don't ask... It has been with me since sparklinghood.:"_

He cast down his gaze and nodded again, and when she released him he noticed that barely a few seconds passed; he had been pretty sure it was had been more like half an hour. Shaking his head, he stormed out of the medbay without glancing at the petrified CMO and scientist. He needed to find Optimus now.

 _":One more thing... Be careful with it... It is a very unstable formula.:"_ He heard her warning in his head.

As he hurried through the Ark's passageways he was surprised to find himself thinking _why not trust her?_ They were in the same situation now after all... Even if it was _Starscream_ who was the one sharing his fate and perhaps believing her was a bad idea.

But… he had nothing left to lose anymore, did he?

...


	22. Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: none.
> 
> Beta: Angelcakes19

**Eighteen**

Somehow he felt impatient. The way Starscream told him those things... In another moment it wouldn't have mattered, she was a Decepticon after all and their word is as good as slag.

But then again, why did he feel so certain that she was not lying? After all, Starscream was known as one of the absolute worst individuals an Autobot or Decepticon could cross paths with and trusting the 'treacherous second in command of the Decepticons' was the equivalent of saying 'I am an idiot'..

Centuries and millenniums had worked to harden his temper and improve his ability to know others, and even if he had never personally met her, he had heard the strong rumours that surrounded her like flies to rotten flesh.

"We have arrived at our destination; the Nemesis is directly beneath us." Prowl announced.

After Starscream gave Ultra Magnus the codes, he went straight to the Prime to reveal them and of course inform his brother of her demands for her medicine. The Prime accepted them and they quickly charged after the Decepticon ship. In the beginning the lack of soldiers and patrols seemed odd, and even more so the lack of any warnings of the Decepticons on his radars; then they just hoped the worst for the others, prayed it was finally over.

"Set in the codes," The Prime ordered and once they were sent a tower lifted itself from the water and an entrance opened. The lack of any welcoming gesture or act of defence was eerily creepy.

"Sir?" Prowl spoke thoughtfully, his processor working on many possible situations of what was going on in there and what was awaiting them.

"Superion, land on the pod, we're going down. Soldiers, prepare your weapons." Optimus ordered succinctly and they could feel how the huge combined shuttle moved and hovered on the pod before finally landing. Meanwhile everybody on board onlined their weapons and awaited orders.

Superion's gates opened and the Autobots came down, pointing their guns everywhere as they looked for any threat.

"Autobots," Prime called. "Let's get inside!" he ordered and they obediently entered behind him.

...

* * *

It was not something the Prime, nor any of the other Autobots had ever expected to see. There was only darkness and emptiness, as if it was totally abandoned and had been for some time. A ghost ship the humans would have said.

Prime gave orders to separate and Ultra Magnus took the path she had directed him to that would lead him to her quarters, the area all the officer's personal quarters were located.

With extreme caution and silence he, with the twins, went through the passageways which would normally have been restricted access. It didn't take him long at all to find her locked quarters. However, one of the quarters already had its door open and it was that one which immediately drew his attention. Especially as according to Starscream's map it was Megatron's quarters.

Curiosity won out for Magnus and he decided to investigate the Warlord's rooms first.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't we enter Screamer's quarters first?" Sunstreaker demanded at which Ultra Magnus answered:

"That's Megatron's quarters, I think it is more important than this one, we will go in there first." he hissed.

Both twins mentally groaned and followed their officer grumbling as they reached the open entrance then entered and once in...

"What the _**frag?!**_ " Sideswipe cried at the sight that greeted them, covering his mouth and trying to suppress a gag reflex but finally end up purging, his brother quickly following his example.

There he lay... Megatron... Dead... And it seemed he had been brutally murdered in the most disgusting and macabre way possible! His frame lay, twisted and broken, on the floor. Dried energon coated his frame and his faceplates were contorted and frozen in an expression of utter agony. The palm of one of his servos had been punctured by his claws in a vain attempt to relieve the pain that had assaulted his frame before deactivation. The Warlord, once thought undefeatable, was gunmetal grey, tinted purple with his own leaked mech-blood, and was finally still after causing millennia of agony to his own people.

Both twins abandoned the room in horror, but Ultra Magnus strengthened his processor at what he saw and remained.

There was not just the mangled and abused body of the Decepticon Warlord, but one of the things he had promised to take back laying on the silence, grey metal.

Right in the centre of the faction leader's chest was Starscream's diary.

"Frag!" he cursed, what was it doing there?! It seemed to be the last thing the Decepticon Lord had read before his execution.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he reached for it while forcing himself to ignore the dried energon blood on the cover; taking it, the Autobot subspaced it before the hurried steps he had begun to hear ran into the room. The twins had called for help it seemed.

"O' fraggit! Wha' happened to the slag maker?!" Ironhide exclaimed once he set his optics on the disgusting view. "No wonder the 'cons didn't make any soun' in months!"

"Prime! Ya better come here, there's something ya need ta see... Something I've never seen in ma life!" Ultra Magnus heard Ironhide urgently comm his brother.

"I need to check on something in Starscream's quarters," Ultra Magnus excused himself quietly and quickly walked to the next room. In his way he found the twins shivering and coughing as they finished purging their tanks in the corridor.

He shook his head, it was annoying, but it was not a big deal... This always happened with low ranked soldiers when confronted with some of the vilest the war had to offer. Once in the entrance, he set the codes in that got it open and he entered with little trouble.

Everything seemed so quiet and ordered in there, so clean... No doubt she was an obsessive compulsive scientist... But there was something else, some aura he could not describe, like a unpolluted aura... It was odd and unnerving, so he decided to straight away reach for the secret compartment that held the medicine she had mentioned, set the codes in and it opened seemingly out of nowhere. It was a white wall with nothing appearing to be in or on it just a few seconds ago!

Inside the compartment were three shots left of the 'medicine' and another five empty spots, but ignoring most of it, he just took the closest one to servo and closed it back up. He then left the room just in time to see his brother passing in front of him in a hurry.

' _That's weird,'_ he thought. ' _He didn't seem to notice me or this room.'_

Shaking off those feelings he stepped out and the door automatically shut closed behind him, but he ignored it as he quickly strode into Megatron's quarters again.

"Prime?" Optimus was frozen in shock at the sight before him. "I need to take this to Starscream. Permission to leave, sir?"

The Prime just nodded, his optics never abandoning Megatron's corpse.

"Can I take Silverbolt?" He asked hopefully.

Once again the Prime nodded and then Ultra Magnus didn't waste another second and rushed away to the exit. According to Starscream, she needed this shot now or she would become so aggressive that no one would be able to stop her killing...

And… somehow he believed her... Somehow... something told him she was not lying, not this time at least.

Once he reached the exit, he saw the young Aerialbots were out there chatting and wondering out loud what was possibly happening inside as the Prime had ordered them to stay out and keep watch.

"Silverbolt, I need you to return me to the Ark, Prime's orders. I need to be there as fast as you can fly ASAP." Ultra Magnus ordered, striding up.

"Yes Commander!" The big flier transformed the moment after he had finished speaking so Magnus could climb in and then they fled together from the Nemesis.

From the entrance, the remaining Aerialbots still speculated about what was inside and what possibly had Ultra Magnus so worked up.

...

* * *

Hours later, when they reached the Ark and landed, Ultra Magnus transformed and hurried to the medbay as fast as he could drive.

' _Primus, why am I in such a hurry?!'_ He wondered to himself. Luckily he had already sent Silverbolt off to refuel and ordered him to then return to the Nemesis as fast as he could so he had a few moments alone to think.

Finally, he reached the medbay and entered, finding Starscream howling and thrashing as all of her... _tattoos_ glowed as the medics held her down as if she was possessed.

Without wasting another second, he prepared the shot and emptied its entire contents into her neck. Immediately afterwards she seemed to calm and then her whole body went limp. She didn't respond to anything or anyone after that.

"Right on time, Magnus, I thought she was going to... To... I don't know... Destroy us!" Wheeljack exclaimed tiredly, visibly shaking.

They remained in silence for a while until an unspoken order from Ratchet got them all trying to get her settled back on the medical berth.

Once she was steady, Perceptor reached for the needle Magnus had brought to her and examined it as the others discussed her recent unnatural behaviour.

…

* * *

**The Nemesis.**

"What happened to him...?" The Prime whispered recognizing the glyphs that now tattooed the lifeless and mangled body of the fallen Decepticon leader, Megatron's protoform bared to the air for any onlooker to see.

He didn't even dare to examine his body, but the sight that his optics granted him of the other's member as he looked over him from his slight distance was enough to make him want to purge with his younger troops.

Optimus steeled his temper and comm-ed someone to come and remove Megatron's body... somehow.

": _Prime, you have to see this..._ :" Prowl called in a tone he never thought he would hear from his second-in-command. That of uncertainty...

"What is it, Prowl?" He asked, giving a deep vent.

": _Every room I've searched... every personal quarters... I've found dead mechs! And not just that, they are armour-less and... This is weird, even for me... they seems to be tattooed... I cannot explain it!_ :" The SIC expressed in a frustrated way and the Prime fell quiet... That was the same situation Megatron's body found itself in before him!

"Good job, Prowl, we will get to the bottom of this." He reassured then ended the connection.

Minutes passed and his mechs kept calling to tell him they've found more dead mechs with markings on their protoform where their armour had been taken from them. They even found Soundwave like that, and he shared the same damage to his frame Megatron did according to the descriptions circulating through the Autobots with the speed and strength of a forest fire, which caused many of his soldiers to faint or purge.

This looked bad... He had hoped to find someone alive so he might have given his brother's future mate some hope in them, but such hope was fading with the passing of each call.

°: _Prime!_ :° This time it was Jazz. ": _I've found mechs that seem to have died from starvation! They are down here in the brig and they are many!_ :"

"Repeat that, Jazz, are they still armoured and unmarked?" The Prime questioned, brow furrowed as more questions plagued his mind.

": _No marks, fully armoured, but energon free. Prime, this is getting weirder with each passing second, we have now found two groups of dead mechs!_ :" Jazz sounded worried and the Prime couldn't blame him. What had remained of the Decepticon faction on Earth seemed to have split in two in terms of their fates, though neither was preferable to the other and both were grotesque.

"I know, Jazz, and I will find out what happened here. Somehow I believe that Starscream may have an Idea of who is responsible for this." He mused over the comm to his third-in-command.

": _How so? She was in coma all this time, even after the last Decepticon activity_ :" The musician sounded a bit dubious of the idea.

"I know but I can't explain it by comm." The Prime answered, tone still thoughtful.

": _Alright, I'll waiting for the meeting for you to explain. I'll keep ya informed of any new developments, Jazz out._ :" And the comm line was cut.

Two groups of corpses, that was rare indeed and the mystery made itself bigger with each passing moment as Optimus tried to work out what had happened there, who had killed all those mechs? And... How had all those mechs died from supposed starvation? Starvation takes a very long time to kill in Cybertronians, not mere months!

He couldn't wait to ask Starscream about it once she awakened; Ultra Magnus had informed him through a message that she had received her medicine and was now deeply asleep, quiet and calm on her medbay berth. But whatever was the case, Megatron, Soundwave and many other mechs now shared the same glyphs she possessed; the difference being that these ones were newer and were never meant to heal…

": _Optimus... you're not going to believe this, survivors, we've found survivors!_ :" Elita suddenly beamed good news through the link.

"Survivors? Where?!" He exclaimed very intent on going to her location to see for himself.

": _The med-bay... two Constructicons are online, three are in stasis lock as well as two seekers... Optimus, you're not going to believe who they are! Starscream's trine!_ :" The femme Commander exclaimed, happy for the other femme.

Good news at last and even better than could have been hoped for since it was her own trine in there; this day was getting better...

": _Optimus, there's something else..._ :" She trailed off.

"What is it?" He prayed it was not more bad news, especially after that snippet of relief he had been given.

": _Their medic... named Hook... he said something interesting about what might have happened here after we told him and his gestalt mate that everyone else outside this room is dead._ :"

"What, what did he say?" Optimus urged her to continue.

": _He gave us an interesting story about their SIC Soundwave, that it was his fault that everyone here is dead because of him because he was a... a vampire..._ :" Elita finished with a tone of incredulity. ": _You need to come._ :"

"I can't now, I'm making sure everyone is taking the bodies outside, back to the Ark; also that Blaster is checking what is in their console system and hard drive."

": _I see; what are your orders?_ :"

"Cuff them, we cannot take any risks, and take the mechs in stasis with you." He ordered.

": _Very well, Elita, out_ :" And the connection was broken.

Optimus Prime frowned as he thought of all the things that happened there, all the things they'd found... It was starting to give him a headache and he couldn't help but wish that this day was over and for him to have all the pieces they'd found here in one single piece that he could understand.

Turning on his heel once Megatron's body was taken, he followed his mechs outside the base where many corpses were laid out in preparation to be carried to the waiting ship on the ocean over and over again until there was no one left or forgotten on the ground.

He wanted to leave this pit hole now and never return... especially now that he had such questions and pieces to put together... And the one that most likely had the answers he required was all the way back in the safety of the Ark... And that someone would soon be questioned for answers...

Answers that he hoped didn't simply leave him with more questions.

...


	23. Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: possible OOCness and unapropied language.
> 
> Beta: P.A.W07

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Where did that old bastard hide?!" The tri colored seeker hissed as she walked stealthy over the many marble and luxurious passageways. Today was the day Megatron planned on attacking the Autobot Council on Iacon... It was time they got rid of those old fraggers for good and they didn't had much time and needed to kill as many of them as possible...

...particularly their leaders: Alpha Trion, Xaaron, Traachon and Straxus. All of them were found but the eldest of them all and it was her task to find him and kill him... Or give him to Megatron to kill.

She then stopped, feeling something in a near room and hurried towards it before opening the door and entered, but as she did this, the door closed back violently making the seeker flinch.

However, seconds later a strong and powerful energy just as violently pushed her strongly against the near wall almost knocking her out.

A tall and old mech who was holding a golden medal in front of himself pointed at her carefully as he stepped in front of her fallen frame.

"Impossible..." He whispered before examining her.

Starscream just looked back, unable to move as her whole body went lax. There he was... Her target... "Alpha Trion, you _bastard_..." She hissed.

"I don't know how you can handle the starvation... Your sire never did." He said and her optics widened just as her breathing stopped.

' _How did he know?!'_ She wondered in shock.

"I don't care how but it has weakened you... Nightscream wouldn't have tolerated an itch... I suppose you were the one who got rid of him, right?"

Starscream was unable to utter a sound... How did this old Autobot know so many things about her?!

"Even if I feel sorry for what happened to you or your city, I can't let you kill me..."

With those last words, the golden medal in his hand lightened before everything turned black for her...

...

* * *

"Starscream..." The Winglord said her name without facing her. His back to her as he watched from a balcony.

"Why are you not at the party, uncle?"

"Because I'm not needed there... And I can see you're not needed either."

The femme scowled but still walked towards him and leaned against the balcony.

"You know, your sire... He was not the monster you met once... He was a great hero for Vos... For Cybertron..."

She lifted an optic ridge not believing a word, but not interrupting him either.

"He was far older than what he looked like," Sunblaze continued. "So long ago... Almost everybody if not everyone has forgotten by now... Even before I was created he eradicated a plague from this planet, this universe... He alone defeated the clan... The city of vampires..." He sighed. "He was never the same after that, I was told. Before, he was kind and generous... But then he became twisted, dark and insane... Ordered that tower built and hid there; years later he killed our grandsire and took Slipstream for himself... And kidnapped sparklings... To feed..." He scowled in disgust and shook his head without continuing.

"Vampires? You said... Vampires? What...? Can you explain, please?" She said.

"You don't know?" he asked surprised.

"I know the term, the word, the meaning... But... There was a clan of mechs and femmes who really did that?! I've always thought that consuming the energon from a mech or femme was toxic... Except for him..."

"Yes… Long ago before the golden age... Disgusting creatures of the dark who needed to consume the energon from the living... And if that didn't kill you, it transformed you into one of their mindless soldiers. That is the reason their city was impenetrable... They were protected by their own victims... But my brother could withstand them... I believe with a high cost..."

"He was turned into one..." she said.

"No... He was something else..." the Winglord answered and his voice seemed to fade off.

...

* * *

Something pulled Starscream back into reality and onto the Autobot medbay.

Memories… They were long forgotten memories and no more; but it felt so real. She even felt the warmth of Alpha Trion's amulet on her still... And the words of her uncle tingling in her receptors.

"Uhhh..." She moaned feeling the horrible taste of the paralyzer in her body... Even in her mouth.

The few times this happened, when she awakened, Hook was there to receive her and gave her an energon candy to soften the disgusting feelings...

...but now... She was alone...

...alone with her numbness and that taste.

She thought about this as she opened and closed her mouth tasting it with an expression of utter disgust. There was no way in the universe she would get used to this.

"Finally... I thought you would never awake again."

Slowly, but no less surprised, Starscream turned her head towards the deep voice that addressed her. "You..."

"A month... You were out for a month. Now I see why you suddenly disappeared before for long periods of time." Ultra Magnus said watching her frown at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hmmm... Like slag... Why? You care?"

The blue mech just looked down at her with an unreadable expression before asking: "Can you stand and walk?"

"Uhhh... I think so... Why?" She said trying to move and lay on her side to sit. He came to her aid quickly and soon her legs were hanging from the berth. "Thank you-"

She was about to say something but then an energon candy was thrusted into her mouth quickly. "Your medic, Hook, said that this will help you feel better." He watched amusedly how she froze and quietly savored the candy.

Once she was done thinking, she started: "Hook's here? Where? I want to see him... And the others! I need to!"

The mech just watched her ramble with half of the candy out of her mouth as he held her still so she wouldn't fall from the berth. "In due time; now, I need you to recover your strength and walk with me to a place where my brother is waiting for you; he has important things to discuss with you."

The seeker seemed hesitant so he continued. "You better be able to walk, I don't want to have to carry you there in front of all the other Autobots."

She considered this before finishing the candy. "You know... You _did_ me a favor, and I like to repay them. You had some questions I can answer..."

He frowned, but before he could yank his arm free from her, she was already looking straight into his blue optics and took hold of his wrists.

Seconds later, Ultra Magnus felt as if he was drowning in cold water before images appeared in front of his optics...

The **_him_** was her sire... A despicable mech who abused her, marked her and took her essence and life from her pain and fear. He saw how this mech tortured her and fed from her before raping her.

The **_what's going on?_** He saw as she invoked something that released powers in her making her able to kill her abuser.

And finally the **_what are you?_** He watched the price of such powers as she almost transformed into a starving beast before a young white shuttle injected her with the paralyzer.

Ultra Magnus was finally able to let go from her grasp, walked backwards, took a deep breath and was about to let out a yell before Starscream jumped him and covered his mouth successfully silencing him. "Quiet! Don't you dare scream out like... Like a femme!" She added in disgust knowing full well she was one.

He looked at her in shock. It felt so real! More than just memory fluxes; it was so disgusting, repulsive and horrible... How was she able to put up with all of that?!

"Good... You're not to reveal what you saw. It was for you and _you_ only." She said never looking away from his optics, hypnotizing him. He just nodded.

After all, he didn't think he would be able to speak about it to anyone. He even wanted to forget it!

...

* * *

Minutes later, when she regained enough strength and he seemed to be able to calm down, he took a breath and looked at the seeker.

"I will take you to my brother now, come on." He motioned for her to stand and walk.

But before they could leave the medbay, Ultra Magnus stopped her. "Wait, before leaving, there must be something we must do in order for other soldiers to leave you alone, and you must do as I say unless you want to be disturbed again."

"What?" She asked lifting an optic ridge. Then both watched as he pulled her towards himself and took her by the waist before taking one of her hands in his. "What are you doing?!" She said as he set her to his side holding her like this.

"Like me or not, but my brother... The Prime made our compromise official... So, they will respect you a little more if we walk like this."

"He did what?! And... You're willing to walk with me like this?"

"If they offend you now... They will be offending me as well, they wouldn't dare like this." He said holding her waist tighter.

"But, why like this?" She asked looking where his hand as on her waist and then to the other taking her petite hand.

"It is our culture... This is how mates walk when together and no one has the right to say anything."

He said before releasing her waist and then set his arm over her shoulder carrying most of his weight on her and taking her other hand in his other hand and setting the other around his waist. "This is how a master and his slave walks... His sexual partner..."

Wide opticed she squirmed out and away from him. "Ewww, don't you dare!"

He just chuckled at her startled expression. "I won't. My brother was right, I would never dare... Besides, you didn't let me show you the way a mech walks with a pleasurebot..."

For once in his life he let out a cackle at how funny was her face was, contorted into different disgusted expressions, and then at her scowl because of his mirth. "Ha-ha... Very funny... What happened with the stoic and cold Ultra Magnus I've heard about?"

"He's here... Now I understand why... The rumors that you were fun to tease are true." He said amusedly watching her roll her optics in annoyance.

"Wasn't your glitched brother waiting for us? And what happened to you, you said if I can remember it correctly that you wouldn't share the air with _this."_ She said signaling herself.

"That was a month ago," He said watching her widen her optics. "It gave me time to think on things... And yes, that time passed. Shall we?"

He gestured for her to get near and took her by the waist again delicately before walking out of the medbay.

"Why is it that your brother wants to see me so urgently that I can't even go and see my remaining comrades before?"

"You'll see once we get there, soon." Ultra Magnus answered as the couple walked through the passageways. The other Autobots looked at them but said nothing; they just walked faster and away from the couple's path.

Ignoring everything else, she let herself be lead by him as she got caught up in her own thoughts... How she could sleep for so long knowing what was going on? It never happened before. A week was the longest she had slept after a full dose.

She just hoped that nothing out of the ordinary happened. Starscream hated surprises as much as she hated that vampire.

...

* * *

_**Later**_...

"I was wondering what made you change your mind about me; after all, I'm a criminal, a murderer of your people." The seeker femme asked her 'mate' as they walked to the Prime's location.

"I don't think I'm wrong, I am also a tactician and thinking is my forte; maybe you did your own during war, but you're not a murderer as we judged you." He said in the coldest tone he could muster, trying his best to not call his subordinates' attention too much.

"What makes you think that? I was there when the Council was slaughtered; I helped Megatron plan the attack... I am what you all think I am..." She trailed off, lowering her head, frowning in hate.

Ultra Magnus watched her. "But you didn't kill them, directly. Also you're not a cold blooded murderer or you would have killed us all with those powers of yours long ago... You even created those null-rays that paralyze rather than kill. You never wanted to kill, right?"

She looked up at him with wide optics as if he... No, someone outside her cousins had seen her and understood her and her reasons? It must be some kind of dream perhaps?

"If I was you, having someone killing my friends and family and then find my city in ashes, and believing the words of a lunatic that said it was 'Autobots' when I was still suffering from the impression of it, I would have done much worse." He added.

She frowned at him wondering how he knew all those things. Unless, he had... No... ' _No way!'_

"I'm sorry... I knew it was private, but... I've read a little piece of your diary..." He said losing a little of his coldness in favor of showing how sorry he was. "I've found it in a very... different place from the one you indicated, and I had to check if indeed it was the right datapad... It talked about Megatron and how he convinced you to join him, using us as scapegoats. I'm not saying we're saints either... Because we're not." he quickly added.

She let out a sigh as if disappointed and ashamed at the same time. "You read it?"

"Just that piece... I apologize, I know it is private and everything..." He found himself trying to apologize, to Starscream of all mechs... Or femmes.

"Where did you find it?" She finally asked hoping for an answer like 'the floor' but something deep inside told her otherwise.

"It was on Megatron's corpse..." He trailed off watching her shocked expression. "Yes, he's dead, was dead when we found him. And he seemed to be reading it before he died, and that was where his reading stopped."

Starscream seemed to be in shock. How could Megatron have died? She never thought he would be killed by that vampire, ever! And... He read her diary?! Bastard! Good thing he was dead.

"I'll give it back once we're in my quarters. I know it is private and if it ever falls in my brother's hands... Be sure he will publish it. Take it as a peace offer between us." He finished before reaching a door.

"You're willing to make peace with me?" Again she asked trying to leave behind her previous shock. "Why? Didn't you say you hated me? Honestly, I can't blame you for that. Remember I'm _the Starscream_ , hated Air Commander and SIC of the Decepticons."

"As I said before, a month passed and it give me time to think on things, our situation and our common fact, our misgivings on what the Prime, my brother wants us to do. Which of course I refuse to do and -thanks Primus- you too."

"So, you wouldn't... do _that_ to me?"

He frowned at her in confusion. "No, that must be done between a loving couple... or an arranged couple that agree on the same thing or terms, like a contract. Besides, Prime gave you time to heal, emotionally speaking; who said you will heal so fast or ever will?"

Starscream looked up at him with a lifted optic ridge and considered his words. "Perhaps you're right..." She said thinking on something.

"Also, if I were to have sparklings, I want them to be completely... sane, healthy and loved. With a carrier that suffers... the creations will suffer as well and will become in potential criminals or sociopaths."

"Hey! What do you mean by that? That any sparkling I will produce will be one of those things you mentioned?!" Starscream huffed in indignation at him, wings hiking up.

"They will be if you're unwilling. If you have them through rape as you said once." He answered calmly watching her lower her wings as if understanding. There he made a note to himself that he needed to learn her wing language. It seemed it was the one part of her body she didn't fully controlled when angered.

Ultra Magnus then let go of her hand and waist to enter a code on the panel that made the doors open.

"Ladies first." He said, motioning with his hand for her to enter and watched with an amused smirk at how she scowled at him and once again her wings hiked up before walking in, Magnus following suit before the door closed automatically behind them.

…

* * *

"Starscream, Ultra Magnus, welcome." The Prime greeted them. Starscream frowned at him and soon Prowl, Jazz and Ironhide came to stand behind their leader.

Quickly, noticing the mechs and the way they looked at her, Ultra Magnus walked next to her and took her petite hand in his before twining their fingers and locking their hands together. After that, seconds later, Prowl's doorwings lowered and his optics seemed to show surprise in them before vanishing completely; the same happened with the other two mechs. However, they continued glaring at her in a very unfriendly manner.

"Prime, it is good to be here." Magnus saluted with his other hand as his grip tightened against her hand as if warning her to not let him go.

"Good," Optimus said noticing their entwined fingers. "I see you're getting on with each other pretty well."

Having said that, Starscream didn't wasted a second on deepening her frowning, shaking her arm and hand violently to try and get herself free from him. "Let go of me! You're crazy if you think I will ever go along with this!" She barked at the Prime still trying to get her hand free from Magnus' one who finally let go of hers while doing his best not roll his optics or let out a sigh in annoyance. She acted like a spoiled brat!

She knew she was making a scene, a scene that wasn't acceptable of someone of her lineage. Sunblaze would be rolling in his grave if he could see her now. But she couldn't help it, the Prime's comment on her situation made her angry, thinking as if she accepted her fate!

The other three mechs didn't wasted another second on stepping closer once she was free from Magnus' grasp, but the Prime stopped them with a hand gesture. Nodding he motioned them to walk. "This way, please."

"Starscream," The Prime continued. "There is something you need to see, something we don't quite understand and we believe you can help us with the answer."

"I don't have all the answers in the universe, Prime, like the one which I'm still wondering myself... how someone can be a Prime and a jerk at the same time? Maybe that cursed and senile relic you have in your chest only chose the worst jerks Primus ever created! Or who knows, it's still a theory I cannot prove since I don't have the subject to experiment on!" She bit out each word with her own dose of venom her glossa could spit out.

Ultra Magnus couldn't help it this time. He took his right hand to his face as if wanting to cover it in shame. It was as if the seeker wanted... no, _begged_ to be beaten to slag! No wonder why Megatron was doing that all the time to see if she would just shut up.

Well, since she couldn't use her fists, she was using her words... That was natural for... _Femmes_... Magnus thought; she'd always done this and now he noticed.

But the Prime took it with cool hands that ended up surprising everyone. "No, I don't question that, and maybe one day if I do I will hire you for that so we can all have an answer," She flushed and looked away at that remark. She wasn't waiting for that kind of answer. "But the thing we have at hand is very serious and I will ask you to remain calm." He said before opening another door to a large hangar where lots and lots of mechs' corpses were stored.

Her breathing stopped as she looked up at them, her fallen comrades...

"They are not the ones I want you to see, follow me," He motioned to another group of mechs, armor less mechs who also had marks in their protoform skin! "These are the ones I want you to examine..." He trailed off as he watched her pale at the sight before her optics. She then started shaking and it was then that the Prime started to worry.

"Ultra Magnus!" He motioned his brother to go to the petrified seeker's aid who was now cold and then warm, fat tears started leaking from her optics.

' _No... this cannot be true, this isn't happening!_ ' She thought desperately over and over again, thinking that she must be hallucinating!

"Starscream?" Magnus tried before touching her arms from behind.

In that moment, her sight became blurry, her body lax and cold as if her energon decided to leave her head again. Her spark clenched as the memories of where she first she saw those symbols attacked her processor.

Someone was calling her name, but she couldn't reach it; it was too far away now. With that last thought she passed out on someone's arms.

"Starscream!" Magnus tried again but it was useless, she fainted completely unresponsive.

"What happened?" He gasped.

"I think it must have been... something that reminded her of... uhh... dark event?" Jazz decided to give his opinion and Optimus nodded at that.

"Perhaps, maybe seeing all these mechs with those symbols brought back memories on how she obtained hers." The Prime said.

"Slag it, I wish she had a diary or somethin' ta read about this one, ah' mean, like a manual or somethin' that explains what happens through her processor." Jazz added again and Ultra Magnus involuntarily flinched at that, holding her tighter, trying to not react in another way that would call the other mechs' attention.

"One thing," Prowl stepped forward. "Ultra Magnus, you better start controlling your mate; she cannot continue talking to the Prime like this. It is disrespectful to you since you don't seem to be able to control what is yours or lack power over her."

Ultra Magnus' optics widened at that. Good thing she was offlined or she would have jumped the SIC, ripped off his head with her teeth and given her own opinion about _his opinion_ and at how sexist that sounded. After all, she seemed to be an independent femme, a little spoiled, immature and rude, but still one who follows her own path. She even disguised herself as a mech to achieve her goals. She didn't want or need anyone to do what she wanted to do.

But unfortunately, Prowl was right. She was his now, and that meant that if someone offended her, they would be offending him. If she offended someone, it would be like he said it with his own mouth.

Great! ' _Thanks Optimus._ ' he thought bitterly.

"I'll do my best to control her... temper... but as you can see, she's not agreed with this, just like me. The problem is that she's not like me. She will not stop with her ramblings or verbal vomit and will offend someone if she believes it is needed; we all know that she is _Starscream_ and that only a good beating from Megatron was enough to shut her." He said.

"Maybe it is not necessary to beat her, brother, just find the right words as you watched me do a few minutes ago, even if she seems to be asking for a beating, maybe she just needs to talk. Speak to her and she will stop saying those comments." Optimus reassured his little brother with a touch of his shoulder. "Primus knows why he wants you to be together..."

 _'So you will keep your promise of making me bond for once? Fragger!_ ' He thought bitterly again but didn't voiced it out loud. He wasn't Starscream and she offended enough mechs for the both of them.

The mechs stood there in silence waiting for her to react and awake. But as they did this, a thread of anger crossed Magnus' processor. He wished he could get revenge on his brother for this...

...the only problem with that was that he was not a mech who knew how to do that...

His optics widened.

But _Starscream_ was...!

She wouldn't deny him that she wanted a piece of his brother for what he tried to force upon them! She would do it gladly and for free, he was sure.

A glint appeared in his blue optics as he looked down at her offlined frame. Yes, she would do it. He knew it and would not wait to tell her this once she awoke again.

...


	24. Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: possible OOCness and unapropied language, mentions of past abuse.
> 
> Beta: none :(

**Twenty**

...

Starscream didn't reacted and the time passed, hours passed...

"Prime, I don't think she will awake again for now, maybe Ultra Magnus should take her with Ratchet." Prowl stated watching her prone form in Magnus's arms. Optimus nodded.

"Ultra Magnus," The Prime stated and his brother looked up at him. "Take her back to your quarters and let us know when she awakes."

"Prime-" The SIC tried but Prime stopped him.

"She will be ok, now, go." He motioned his brother to leave.

Magnus nodded and lifted her slender body to carry it bridal style. But before he can do that, Prowl stopped him.

"Magnus, I mean it, you better control that femme or the others will start talking about you and how... How you're not a real mech to handle the situation and that you lack from the real and needed equipment to do so." His colleague tactician stated looking down and pointing at where his crotch was located.

A cold feeling of dread run by his spine and tanks at that. But he still did his best to keep cold. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you, Prowl." He said before marching away with the seeker.

...

* * *

Ultra Magnus just walked automatically to his quarters ignoring everyone as he took his unconscious charge, thinking about everything Prowl had said. Primus! That mech was so... Bitter!

How dare he?!

He tried his best to not do that mech's business his, but sometimes he wondered if Prowl tried to make his business his... Or always tried to involve others?

Whatever was the case, he couldn't help but want/wish Starscream to tell Prowl to sick up his nose in his aft if he didn't wanted to do it in his own business leaving them both alone with theirs.

After all, he won't say those words; why would he when the seeker can for him? She seemed to be rude, immature, imprudent and uneducated enough to do that automatically that everyone will think it's just her nature.

He will just need to say a little apologize after her burst of rage. But it will be _so_ worthy... The seeker will express everything he can't with luxury of words, no matter if she was his now and that every word that came out of her mouth will be taken as if _he_ have said it.

 _That_ , and the little act of revenge he wanted her to plan against his brother. Magnus smirked wondering if she will blow up Optimus' aft making him unable to sit or interface for months...

...without doubt that will be fun.

Thinking about this all the way, he quickly reached for his quarters and entered, but once in he noticed a little problem he forgot to resolve.

His little bed.

"Frag!" He couldn't help but curse. They will indeed need a bigger berth and _now._

Laying her down onto it, he noticed that not even her wings fitted fully as this ones were out of said little berth and held up in the air on each border.

"I knew it! I was right! Her wings will take up all the space!" He huffed in annoyance before calling someone and ordered him to get him a bigger berth ASAP, name it, _yesterday._

He took a deep breath before reaching for his desk's chair and sit on it once he set it next the berth and watched her sleep.

For moments he just watched at nothing in particular, then remembered what happened the day they brought the remaining two living decepticons back to the Ark. And thinking about that made him space out as he remembered fully.

...

* * *

**FLASHBACK...**

Hook and Scrapper sat in different rooms as they were interrogated about what happened back in the Nemesis, how was it possible that all those mechs, including Megatron and Soundwave, died?

"You have to believe me!" Hook stood from his chair facing Jazz and Ultra Magnus. "It was Soundwave! He did it! The fragging bastard is a vampire!"

Both Autobots looked at each other before Jazz answered. "Soundwave is dead, so is Megatron, we already told you that; How you think a dead mech can do such thing?"

"I don't know! The only thing I know is that I know what I saw, and I saw Soundwave drinking mechs' life force!" The engineer sat back and rubbed his face with his hand before adding lowly. "I should have believed Starscream when he told us the truth about that mech..."

Jazz' optics' widened behind his visor. "You mean the Starscream knew?"

"Yes! Sh- he knew!" Hook almost said _she_ which means he knew what the seeker was all this time and both Autobots noticed. "And no one believed him until I saw him in action! But by then was too late for many..." He then took a long breath. "We locked ourselves in the medbay and never left again, not even when we started hearing things... mechs screaming for help, to someone to stop... I know it sounds cruel but we had to protect each other, so, we barricaded the doors and waited for days!"

Ultra Magnus nodded listening all of this. "When you realized that Soundwave was a vampire? So far I know that such creatures never existed in our species."

"Well..." The CMO engineer started. "I didn't know either and when Starscream told us, we thought he was making it up; after all, he _discovered_ it when we were here on Earth and we assumed that he had read too many human novels and tried to describe Soundwave's lack of relationship with everyone... In the end I realized she was right..."

At that comment of ' _she'_ both autobots lifted their optic ridges but didn't interrupted the old mech.

Hook sighed. "I was in search for his energon stored in his quarters when I've heard Soundwave coming behind me, I hid in his quarters and he entered Megatron's to give him his report about five mechs that died in the last day; I thought it was strange since I was not informed, but the weirdest thing was that he said that all those mechs died from starvation; that takes years to kill, it can force you in emergency stasis but not kill you!"

The former CMO of the decepticons took a better seat before taking another deep breath. "It was then when I've decided to investigate and followed him, and I saw Soundwave... feeding from Astrotrain's energon... I ran, he chased after me but somehow hadn't crossed the medbay's doors... I don't know what happened but I thanks Primus for it!"

Both autobots looked at each other before lifting themselves from their chairs. "You can take a rest, we will send someone to give you some energon." Magnus said before both parted after the door.

"What about my brothers in stasis? And the seekers? They are the last of their kin!" Hook shouted.

"They will be ok, don't worry." And with that, both mechs left that interrogation room.

"Wow... He knows that the Screamer is a femme; ya hear him talk!" Jazz exclaimed and Magnus nodded. "There's so many pieces ta put together, I hope they all fit."

"And that we have them all..." Ultra Magnus started before thinking about said supernatural creature, named Soundwave. Where did he fit in all of this?

Soon after, they saw Prowl coming out from the other room and motioned them to follow him.

"The Prime called a meeting in five minutes, he wants to know what we could get, there will also be Blaster and Perceptor there to inform about other situations." The SIC said as the three walked together and soon they reached the place where the meeting was starting.

The Prime, Ratchet, Perceptor, Blaster, and Elita One were already waiting for them.

"I summoned you all here because we need to talk about the recent events, namely the decease of an entire army by unknown methods, our guest Starscream and her abilities, the only survivors in the Nemesis and the files Blaster could extract from their main computer; also, our inability to contact with Cybertron or at least Shockwave." Optimus Prime started once the newcomers sat and then continued. "Perceptor and Ratchet, what can you tell us from the seeker femme?"

"Well," The medic begun. "We all know about the scars like glyps that decorate her protoform skin, the same glyphs that are imprinted in most of the corpses you found in the Nemesis. We couldn't identify what they said or mean, however, after she uses those abilities of hers said glyphs lighten up, burning her, and according Starscream -after many hours of begging her to tell us what she felt- they are like an alarm to her body that she needs to feed." He took a deep breath. "And what she needs, maybe Perceptor can explain it better than me."

Perceptor seemed ready to explain before the Prime interrupted him. "But you know what is happenig to her spark?" He addresed his CMO.

"Yes, apparently and in simple sight, nothing, but after an exhaustive exam I discovered that her spark is growing weak after each time she do that, seconds after, her body reacts to her starving spark, and since she told us she never _fed_ , I can calculate that if she uses her _powers_ again, one or two more times actually, she will die, her spark will extinguish completely. The worse is that is not visible on plain sight and even she will feel _normal_ , as normal as always."

Silence filled the room after that remark and it was obviously _not_ what the Prime wanted to hear. "Can she carry?" He then asked without noticing Magnus tense as he did his best to not shift on his seat to show his discomfort.

And not just him, but everybody seemed uncomfortable by that remark. "I don't recomend it, Prime," Ratchet answered finally breaking the tense silence. "Her spark is too weak for a normal carrier, it can cause malformations in the sparkling or even misscarriage that can lead to her death." Silence again filled the room.

Ultra Magnus didn't know if feel relieved for himself or pitied for her; after all, he won't need to impregnate her now or possibly never... But then again, she was one of the last seekers and someday she may wish for her own sparkling to love... But stll, it didn't needed to be his, right?

"So, she's useless?" Optimus asked in a stern voice as if angered.

"Not completely," Perceptor answered coldly. "She can still interface and we worked hard to make her work properly, after all she was raped as a sparkling and her whole system was destroyed, useless even for her own pleasure which was unexistent. Now she's good as new and she and her mate will be able to enjoy it fully."

After that remark Magnus' face paled and he felt cold everywhere just before everyone laid their optics on him and he felt hot suddenly and used all his will power to not allow his white face to flush in shame or make a move that will say how awkward he felt.

The Prime sighed and shock his head. "Good, so, now Perceptor, continue with what you were going to explain us about her... Feeding?"

The scientist nodded before start. "This may sound ridiculesness, but I've heard it when I was a sparkling from the same Alpha Trion;" At the mention of that name, everyone frowned in thought. "He mentioned once to the Council and Sentinel Prime about a creature, he didn't say it's name or frame type, just that it could make impossible things at a high price. Said price was the utter need of consuming the lives of sparklings to continue living young and healthy forever without suffering the consequences of breaking the laws of physics. I said sparklings because this particular mech seemed to have some kind of liking for them... But he was still able to consume any older bot's lives.

"He also mentioned that this creature had glyphs all over his protoform skin and that carved the same symbols on his victims to feed from them, marking them as... His... The elder also said that the Matrix of Leadership will react to this creature of darkness warning the bearer of it's presence and even making him stay away from it." He stopped for a while examining his companion's stunned faces before continue. "Our conclusion is, that if you want for Starscream to be able to carry, you must let her feed from someone so her spark will recover faster otherwise it will take her eons to do so by herself _if_ she never uses her powers again. However, Alpha Trion mentioned that this creature becomes an adict for other bot's lives and that must be the reason she've never fed from anyone before and instead created that paralyzer that stops her from doing so. Also, my second conclusion is, that whoever marked her was feeding from her since she was a sparkling, possibly her sire even if she never afirmed it."

"It was him, I know it..." The Prime added after Perceptor finished and everyone felt ill and disgusted. "Is that all in regards to Starscream?" The scientist nodded so then Optimus motioned Blaster to explain what he and his team found in the Nemesis' main computer files.

In short it was about battle plans, codes, information about members, soldiers, deals with humans, projects, weapons and warp gates. Magnus barely heard everything as his attention focused more and more in his situation and the possibility of his brother _asking_ him to stay longer to talk about _her_.

After Blaster finished talking about how lucky they were to stop the Decepticons on time before they started using biological weapons, Magnus could feel how Optimus' cold gaze was on him and how he did his best to resist and not look at his brother and after moments that felt like an eternity said feeling disipated and he could focus more on what the tape deck was saying;

"...It is pretty obvious they were going to use it on us," Blaster continued. "Cosmical rust is like caught a flu compared to this! And in front of the investigation of course was Shockwave... He even mentioned in a video we found that he knew how to harvest energon, pure energon from femmes! And the fragging bastard even dared to describe how to do it! Is disgusting and the worst part is that it coincides with what the femmes told us they went through with that lunatic before they managed to escape..."

Ultra Magnus frowned at that... There was a time where the femmes of their army got lost and months later they were found at the entrance of their base on Cybertron, naked and exhausted, crying their optics out and barely explaining what happened and not remembering how they appeared back there... His optics widened... Maybe... Maybe _she_ knows about this!

He made a note for himself for later: ask her about the femmes.

As he continued thinking, Blaster finished and then Prowl and Jazz explained what they could get from the two Constructicons and that they didn't wanted any trouble, just their brothers back but that will be a decision for the Prime to take.

They also mentioned that Hook knew that Starscream was a femme and insisted that Soundwave was a vampire and that they have no idea how he died after possibly killing everyone aboard the decepticon ship.

Thanks Primus his brother hadn't dared to talk to him, after all he didn't thought he would be able to answer properly.

Hours later, a few words were echanged with Ratchet saying about Megatron's and Soundwave's condition after he examined them and that said telepath was indeed a powerful mech but there was no possible way to proove he was a vampire since he didn't know how to recognize a living one and even less a dead one, the conditions of Skywarp, Thundercracker and the other Constructicons and about that frozen shuttle they've found in the artic.

Aparently he was a famous young scientist long ago who went missing just as his whole family who disappeared without a trace... The curious fact about this is that Starscream was related to him because she was his partner in Crystal City's Science Academy and the scientific shuttles considered her family but she never went missing and actually is one of the last of her kin. Ratched added that maybe she knows what happened to them all and that even if her story is unknown to them -in part- they were utterly interested in why she hadn't joined the shuttles in wherever they went or why is this Skyfire here in the first place.

Then _finally_ the meeting was over and Ultra Magnus thought he could leave back to his quarters with his perturbed processor; the femme his brother forced on him is more mysteriously than what they originaly thought when she was just a mech and a Decepticon officer; but just as he thought about leaving again...

"Ultra Magnus, brother, please stay, I need to talk to you about something important." Optimus addressed him and he wanted to smack his forehead. He then sat back and waited for his brother to continue keeping the stoic and cold façade he was known for.

Elita One remained as everyone but the two brothers stayed. Yes, he was sure now it was about _her._

Once everyone was out, Optimus started: "Brother, you heard everything regarding your mate, right?"

What was the case in denying it and continue saying that she was not his? So, he nodded. "I don't know what else you want to discus with me about it."

"Just be nice to her, remember that someday she will carry your offspring." Optimus stated and Magnus made a disgusted face before looking at the wall without uttering a sound. "She is yours now, protect her, be patient, remember she was abused and had a hard life unlike us... And her spark may extinguish if she falls prey of rage again and uses those powers she was blessed with..."

"You mean, she was cursed with." Ultra Magnus corrected interrupting his brother and the Prime didn't answered to that and waited for tense silent seconds for Magnus to calm down again.

When the air felt less heavy, Optimus continued. "The paralyzer you brought... Perceptor discovered most of its ingredients and the dose you injected her is enough to kill five grown up mechs, but it just paralises her... It made me wonder how many other medicines are useless for her if she needs such thing?"

"Your point is?" The younger was trying hard now to keep calm and just wished to return to his work and bury his feelings in it forgetting everything.

"That there is more from Starscream than meets the optic, Primus has chosen you for a reason and you can help her... I want you to go and check on her everyday until she awakes and once she does let me know. I have questions to ask her since she's the last high ranked Decepticon that lives. Besides, everyone will respect her more if you're there with her... Protecting your property."

After that remark unconsciously he lifted an optic ridge, Elita one did the same. "Are you going to initiate the breeding program now that the war is officially over?" he tried to change the subject to ignore for a second that his brother called a femme 'a property'. No doubt why Starscream was so upset... Enraged actually... Or why she disguised as a mech since for both cultures femmes were just for either pleasure or breeding...

...except for Autobots maybe who were in need of soldiers.

"Yes," Optimus answered interrupting his train of thoughts. " I will announce it in a few days... I will also announce your engagement with Starscream and I will make it official."

Magnus nodded and seeing no other way out of it, he asked: "Is there anything else?"

"For now, no, you can go. Thank you, brother." Optimus finished watching his young brother stand, nod to him and Elita respectfully and walk out.

And just as Optimus had promised it, days later he announced his engagement with the seeker femme and made it official before practically ordering everyone who had a mate, being this ones of bonded mechs or mechs and femmes to frag and breed.

Ultra Magnus never thought he would live to see it happening or his brother to say it like that. And talking about Optimus, he came with him everyday to check on him and his sleeping mate and talk, to 'advice' him on how to deal with a troublemaker like her and that with talking everything solved easily.

Days later he found himself alone in his quarters thinking about everything before subspacing her diary and looked down at it. Its cover was stil stained with Megatron's energon, so, him being a gentlemech started cleaning it up... Maybe it will give him a good start with her if she received it clean...

...and then he accidentally hit the power button and it onlined...

For a second he froze not knowing what to do... If throw it on the floor or turning it around before offlining it again.

It was too late for any decision as his optics started reading the last things Megatron had read before dying and he couldn't stop himself anymore...

...the way she wrote those things... The emotion in each word... It was breathtaking and captivating!

He felt as if the datapad sucked him in the story... In that particular episode.. As a third watcher that couldn't tear off his optics from a crime scene...

"NO!" He howled before finally gathering enough will power and throwing it away from his hands and curious optics.

But it was too late... He read something she fought hard to keep hidden and buried for so long... Something that pained her, a piece of her abused soul...!

He felt horrible... Not just because he'd read something personal but because he broke the rule to never read private property... Even if it was just one page...

...one page that took away his sleep for days and nights...

...tempting him to read more.

...

**END OF FLASHBACK**

* * *

...

"Hmmm..." Her moans of discomfort shock him out of his memories.

"Finally... I wonder if it will be like this forever?" Magnus said to the awakening seeker.

She didn't answered.

"Prime wants me to tell him when you online again. By the way, what happened there? You seemed fine earlier." He continued watching her sit and rub her head before a sob left her lips and she covered her mouth and started to shake again.

"Starscream? What is it? What you remember? What was that?" He questioned the disturbed femme who didn't seemed to be in her senses now.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading... this chapter is more about Ultra Magnus' thoughts, but as always is centered around Starscream... I don't know you but I wonder, when will she, or anyone around her will have some peace? :3
> 
> Aaaaanyways, thank you for reading and please review, is easy, just go down there, and write :)


	25. Twenty one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: possible OOCness and unapropied language... unbetaed...   
> ...

**Twenty-one**  
  
...  
  
Ultra Magnus sat next her on his berth and was about to reach for her but in the end he held his hand believing it was not a good idea to touch her.  
  
"Starscream?" The seeker didn't respond and he quickly started growing frustrated. "Femmes... And here I remember why I've nev-"  
  
He was interrupted by her sudden show of affection as she reached for him and snuggled against his chest as she cried looking for comfort.  
  
The mech froze, unsure of what must be his next move before looking down at her trembling frame, her shaking wings held down...  
  
After all, he was not a mech who knew what to do in this cases because no one looked for comfort with him... But he needed to do an effort...right?  
  
"Uhh..." he said worriedly looking away without touching her. 'Well... At least she's not trying to hug me.' he thought wondering if she would answer his questions in this state. "Uhh... Can... Can you tell me... Why you fainted? What you remembered? Or saw?"  
  
She didn't answered, but continued sobbing before letting out a gasp, onlining her optics fully and jumping away from him with a loud 'eek!' like sound.  
  
The femme looked terrified at him and then at herself.  
  
"I... I-" She tried, "Yes... I'm ok..." and added before he could ask trying to dry off her tears with her hands.  
  
Not many bots knew, but she responded automatically like this because when she had a nightmare or a terrible memory flux her cousins were there to hug her and calm her... That was the reason she reacted automatically before her processor could process who was with her.  
  
She felt so ashamed for this, not for what just happened only, but because of her stupid needs... Her needs for comfort, love, hugs and sleep always with someone, never alone... Or when alone to never turn off the lights of her quarters.  
  
Starscream felt so pathetic.  
  
She even curled into a little ball as if trying to make herself smaller.  
  
"Can you tell me what happened there?" Magnus tried again carefully crawling towards her and as she didn't answered he continued. "You can tell me, I promise I won't tell."  
  
"Nothing..." She said without looking at him.  
  
"Come on,"  
  
"I said, nothing!"  
  
He then let out a sigh and sat next to her. He might be a tactician, but was also trained as a politician and knew well how and when to push the matter. She was a victim of rape and other abuses and he knew that whatever she saw in the others' dead mechs' bodies made her remember something related to her traumatizing past.  
  
"You know, Megatron, had this with him..." Magnus said unsubspacing a lavender datapad. "I wonder how much he read." She then slowly turned her head towards him before without warning snatched it from his grasp.  
  
The blue mech looked at her with little amusement as she hugged the datapad for dear life and mumbling a little "Thank you" for it.  
  
Good, she took the peace offering, it was time to set his conditions.  
  
"You know, there are some things we must make clear, one of those is the way you behave in public; you are mine now as I said earlier, we're both unhappy about that fact, so, I suggest we help each other, you behave and I convince my brother to awake your cousins..."  
  
He realized too late what he'd say when she suddenly froze and looked up at him with a shocked like psycho face. "Uhhh... I mean, trine..." In the end he added but was too late already.  
  
Starscream didn't uttered a sound... Or if she did he wasn't sure, but with the way she looked at him straight into his optics, he could swear she was saying something like: "You... You... You dared to read it all!"  
  
"I haven't! I swear!" He found himself defending and apologizing to her again. "Just the little piece where it says that your uncle the Winglord was murdered and that it was your cousins' idea to join Megatron!" He didn't thought it was a good idea to add the fact that he now knew she was the Winglord's heir by then and that said ruler was training her personally...  
  
It seemed she forgot his teachings, by the way.  
  
With each passing word he said her optics widened, wings stiffening up and chest puffed in utter rage before without a warning she jumped him with a mighty roar very much intent on hurting him. But him, being the biggest and stronger one of the two took her petite hands in his own enormous ones before pinning her on the berth as she screeched and thrashed saying that she will make him suffer.  
  
"I have no doubt of that, but you must behave like the royalty you are or we will both suffer!" He tried.  
  
"Frag you! I'm no royalty, I have nothing! Frag you and your glitched faction!" She continued thrashing and cursing but he just looked down at her with a combination of pity and worry thinking that maybe his brother was right on the reason behind her aggressive behaviour.  
  
Thinking about it made his processor travel to other thoughts... Like her uncle. Ultra Magnus never met the Winglord but heard and read about him. The mech was a pacifist and an exceptional politician, his temper was always in order... But according others there was something that was off about him, his look was always a saddened one... Magnus wondered if it got something to do with his impulsive niece.  
  
Sunblaze never mentioned or announced who will be his heir or successor publicly... At least not out of Vos; but then again, why choose his niece? Why not one of his creations? After all, it seemed obvious that Starscream has no leader material, no one followed, obeyed or respected her... Besides, who would with that temper? A temper that was possibly based on her abuse as a sparkling.  
  
He continued holding her as he thought about all that and eventually she tired herself and lay there on the berth under him panting and growling. One or another tear ran by the corner of her optics to his pillow.  
  
Not wanting to look at her face again and processing what was happening, he pinned her arms above her head before laying down his head on her chest resting there as if she was a pillow. For a moment he could hear her panicked beatings of her spark against her chamber, but as he continued without moving said beatings turned into something like confused beatings.  
  
"W-what are y-you doing?" She stuttered confused at his lack of movement.  
  
'She must be thinking I'm going to rape her.' He sighed. "I'm not going to rape you I'm just... tired... And we didn't even started officially... Please, Starscream, all I want is you to behave with education... I can protect you if you do, yes, I know you can protect yourself but if you don't behave I will be affected too and in the end no one will respect me because I will be irrespected too because whatever you say is like if I have said it."  
  
Maybe he wished for her to spit out everything he couldn't say... But still he was not so sure about releasing her sharp tongue to her will.  
  
The femme remained quiet for a while processing his ramblings. It made sense... In a way. "How did that come? I mean, that you want me to behave... Something happened, right?" She asked trying to forget for a moment the fact that he read her diary and exactly how much he read.  
  
'What is the meaning in hiding it?' Magnus thought before answering. "Today, after you fainted, Prowl said that if I can't control you is because I'm not mech enough and that I lack of the right equipment... You know what I mean."  
  
She stayed there quiet for a while before answering. "How dare he?" said in a hiss the now angered femme.  
  
"That's why I ask you to behave, we're not like the Decepticons, we don't resolve our problems with punches and shots... So, please, Starscream... Behave for our welfare." He insisted without looking up at her and maintaining his position on her.  
  
"I will think about that... But... I can't believe it... He offended you and you didn't rip off his spike to see how big his is once is away from his crotch just to see if he has the right equipment! I bet he's the one who lacks from it!" She started rambling and Magnus couldn't help but smirk at her remark and soon chuckled. The diary issue is forgotten for now.  
  
"What's so funny?" She asked once felt him on top of her moving.  
  
"Nothing, just the irony of the situation," Lifting himself from her, he answered before watching her confused glare. "I swear I will say nothing about your diary or what I've read... I was just thinking on the conditions my grandsire Alpha Trion gave me to bond... And you fulfill all his standards."  
  
She lifted an optic ridge at that but decided to say nothing, after all he was the one doing the talk this time.  
  
He looked down sitting on one leg on his berth, she following his example but taking her diary back intent on listening to whatever he had to say. "You're a femme, unbonded, smart, high ranked, practically virgin and... Royal blood..." Magnus finished watching her lifted optic ridge. "You know what happened to most femmes, right?" She nodded. "Well, that saved me from bonding all this time... But my brother swore that someday he will find a femme who will fulfill all of that... And... He-"  
  
"He did..." She finished shaking her head. "Why you all obey him? Just because he's the chosen one of Primus?"  
  
The mech didn't answered right away but then said; "Someday you will understand... I hope. But.. Enough about me, why don't you tell me more about you, so we can met each other better."  
  
"I have nothing to say. But why don't you tell me why you don't want to bond? It seems every mech here wants that."  
  
"I'll explain it later." Magnus said and the femme growled, but he insisted, she growled again so he decided to ask her about something else. "At least tell me about Soundwave the vampire, your comrades told me about him and that he was killing mechs in the Nemesis, but, I believe he couldn't have done what you just saw now, right? If you tell me, I'll tell you something about me later."  
  
She looked at him for a moment considering it before finally starting. "I bet you want me to tell you how I realized that he was that, right?" He nodded and so she started.  
  
Somehow he started spacing out as she talked and talked about how much the telepath hated her because she discovered he was a vampire and that the tape deck was responsible on the fake rumors on her nonexistent treason, and the half about Megatron believing it was her who planted the bombs but she insisted she never tried to kill the old bastard because if she wanted him dead he wouldn't have been able to lift a finger against her in the first place because it was not her style to plant bombs or take the lead of an army of idiots and she was just a girl with a hard temper and blah, blah, blah...  
  
...he forgot how much femmes can talk.  
  
'Ohh... Why is so hot in here...' He thought suddenly realizing he was breathing more laboriously as his body's temperature rises... But then a loud screech was heard before a clawed hand slapped him straight on his face and then something much more softer, but still annoying was hitting him insistently.  
  
"YOU. FRAGGING. PERV!" He could hear once he came out of his trance just to find himself in some kind of pillow fight. "How dare you?! You disgusting glitch! Now I see why you've tried to be so nice to me before!" Starscream continued hitting him over and over again.  
  
"No, please, stop! What- what did I do?" He started before looking down at the reason of her anger...  
  
... Right between his legs was standing proudly his erect spike as if pointing at her like a magnet!  
  
Ultra Magnus paled and haven't realized he was screaming uncharacteristically before jumping out of the berth and locking himself in his private washracks at the speed of a lightning.  
  
Looking down at himself, Magnus flushed deeply in shame as he was still hard. How was it possible that he lost control of something like this?! It never happened before! Now how was he going to look at her in the face again?!  
  
Thinking about this he automatically turned on the shower in cold setting before stepping in with a hiss not fully understanding or processing what happened with his body.  
  
Could it be that his brother gave him something for him to react like that? Something that made his body act like he was a mechling without the faculties to control himself? Was he capable on spicing his energon?  
  
He should have suspected when the elder brought him his energon many times lately and even insisted on taking the seeker femme back to his quarters when she passed out instead of taking her with Ratchet.  
  
Now more than ever he wanted revenge against Optimus as anger boiled through his body; he was not aroused in the least which only worsened the itch of a question of how was this possible and the possible answer.  
  
But now… there was only one way to get rid of this problem, something he hated, something he considered unnecessary and sadly… addictive…  
  
"Frag you Orion, I hate you!" He hissed through his teeth cursing his brother as he took his member in hand and proceeded to rub it rapidly. He just wanted to get rid of the problem once and for all and no matter how pleasurable it might be, his processor just thought about revenge.  
  
...  
  
Starscream was left panting and shaking at the unexpected and unwanted surprise before a knock was heard at the door of the room that startled her out from her rage.  
  
Once she open the door, the Prime was there with other two mechs who held a bigger berth that it seemed to be for the new couple.  
  
"Oh! Starscream," She looked up at him like not believing anything anymore. "Good to see you're up... Oh... Where is Ultra Magnus?" He continued and she didn't answered but pointed at his washrack's door. "Oh, ok, he asked for a bigger berth, lets leave the mechs here do their job to install it and meanwhile you can come with me and answer me some questions."  
  
He spoke too kindly for her taste, but as she was still under the impression of the recent episode with Magnus and his -rather large- friend, in the end she let herself be led by the leader.  
  
She'd never seen a real spike before, her sire's one in the dark not counting at all since she was a sparkling... But still... As a scientist she knew that those things existed and she even know how it functioned -from a scientific point of view- however, she never asked to see one or anyone presented his -or hers- to her.  
  
Nor that she wanted to see or touch one, she was happy with her celibacy after it took her millenias to get rid of her trauma that was leaded by said interface member... That and her cousins or bodyguards usually took great care in making the one who wanted to display himself to her disappear.  
  
The seeker femme knew she will never be able to interface, not after what her sire did to her, marking her forever, making her feel disgusted about the idea of someone touching her with ideas of initiating something more intimate.  
  
She keeps thinking like this, but before they could leave, the Prime addressed the others; "Please, let Ultra Magnus know that I'm taking his mate for a while for an interrogation and will return her soon." Then left with her.  
  
The seeker however was still processing everything and hoped that no more of those things happen in the future... Is not like her mind can take it all at once.  
  
And now she let herself be guided again to who knows where.  
  
...


	26. Twenty two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro and the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: last chapter was... uhh... I apologize for that, but you will understand later what happened there, besides Megnus' suspicions about his brother being the one who make him do it...who spiced his fuel.

**Twenty-two.**

_'How did this happened? I've always had the full control of my body_!'

When Ultra Magnus left the shower the first thing he noticed was that he had a bigger berth and that Starscream was not where she was supposed to be and his quarters were deserted.

"Now... Where could she go?" He said to himself before contacting Red Alert.

The Security Officer told him that Optimus Prime took her back into the morgue and before Magnus realized, he was running towards said place.

...

* * *

"Now, can you tell us what happened there?" Optimus Prime was questioning her insistently.

"How should I know if I wasn't there in the first place?!" The annoyed seeker femme barked at the Prime and the other mechs around her. "I was in here, remember?!"

"Yes, but those mechs have the same marks _you_ have on your skin, so you must know who was capable of doing such thing." This time was the SIC , the tactician who offended Magnus.

She looked at him with a frown processing her next answer as the most sharp and colorful insult she could ever purgue in her existence, and once it was done her frown lightened and her wings raised. "Well, I'm surprised here that one of the most ' _intelligent'_ mechs aboard this laughable remedal of base cannot even _process_ what might have happened or who the responsible was; maybe is because said _mech_ is not a _real_ mech because he _lacks_ from the _real_ equipment that one of his gender must have," She looked down at his crotch with a sneer and continued. "But obviously _here_ in this pathetic faction said genital _member_ is utterly necessary to process and control things! I'm wondering how you reached such a position when _you_ of all the presents lack of a _real_ and hu-"

She was interrupted before she could finish and raised her voice more by the clamping hand against her mouth... Ultra Magnus' hand. However, she was still glaring at the tactician as if she was still talking and her muffled words could be heard but not understand.

"I... I apologize for that, sir." The blue mech said panting. He came just in time... And a little late, he noticed by the way the other mechs have their optics hugely wide open.

They were still petrified and Magnus took the opportunity to address her lowering his mouth to her audio. "What have we talked about? I've asked nicely, Starscr- hnnngh!" He was interrupted as she bit his hand on her mouth hardly.

He then, trying to keep his composure refused to scream or cry for it as her sharp fangs buried themselves into his armour and answered her. "I doubt you want to bite _that_.. It's what I used to get rid of _IT..."_

Wide opticed, the seeker femme released him, shivered and started spitting away as if wanting to clean her mouth before reaching for him and tried to slap him hard across the face but Magnus stopped her hand mid air and looked down at her in a cold and unreadable way.

Starscream froze, even if his expression seemed unreadable, the message was clear... ' _Quiet_!'

There was a long time ago when someone was able to stop her with a single look...

... _Sunblaze_...

"Ultra Magnus," Prowl stepped forward to obviously give his opinion again but stopped once the blue mech turned his same icy gaze towards him and haven't stopped until the SIC stepped back.

"Starscream," He addressed his _mate_. "Please tell us what you know... Whatever you can tell us, we will not force you to bring back anything that may hurt you..." Magnus trailed off looking straight to his brother's optics as if telling him what he shouldn't do.

The seeker scowled and Magnus motioned her to sit back just as he did with the others. If Starscream was going to answer their questions, they shouldn't look threatening to her... Well at least a little less than what they are now.

"Starscream?" Ultra Magnus tried.

"I don't know! I... I thought that the only one capable of doing such thing is dead! And he is! So... I don't know who did it, or how... I just don't know!"

It seemed Prime wanted to insist and ask her to try harder on remember, but another sharp and cold look from his brother silenced him and the others.

"I believe you, but we have a problem, Starscream, that murderer who seems to share the abilities of the one who marked you is free, and I believe that he will come for us once he's hungry again." Magnus said with a dreadful tone, but that was not what made her look up at him in surprise _..._

"We were told by Perceptor who heard it from Alpha Trion," He explained patiently to her making the others wonder why he did it... And made her frown in thought before lowering her head. "Is something the matter?" he noticed her change.

"N-no... I mean... What did he said?" She asked trying to hide her surprise.

"You should tell us what you know first!" Prowl demanded but stopped once his optics caught Ultra Magnus' frowning ones.

The blue mech then took her hand in order to calm her and started explaining her everything the scientist told them about the subject. Starscream heard everything with interest as if connecting what he was saying with some things she knew.

"Well... What can you tell us about it?" He continued watching her think deeply and also giving her time and space to process everything. "If you tell us, I will take you to see your remaining comrades." Magnus promised and glared coldly at the other present mechs as if telling them that he was in charge of the situation and they better don't dare to interrupt. Even Prime was shocked, but let it pass, after all it was his mate and what harm can cause them for her to go and see two old constructicons?

"You promise?" She said hopefully and he nodded.

"You have my word."

She considered this, after all he was not recognized in both armies because he was a liar, all the contrary. "I think... Alpha Trion did met my sire as I supposed it in the past... The first and last time I've seen that old mech..." the seeker said in thought ignoring completely the others' reactions. "The day we attacked the Council... He... He stopped me... Used an amulet to do so then said something that he couldn't understand why I've never fed and that it weakened me... Unlike my sire who, according to him, _wouldn't have tolerated an itch_... I don't know how and when those two met, it is unknown for me my sire's story and he died when I was too young..." She trailed off not sure if she must continue, but everyone seemed very interested in her story and it was unlike any of them to interrupt her now.

"So, it was him, your sire, who marked you? And with those marks came your power? Or you were born with them?" Ultra Magnus decided to push a little trying to see how far he could go with her.

Starscream considered answering him... It was a deeply saved secret and she didn't wanted to share it; she needed a way to slip away from it. "I... I don't know" she lied. "I know you won't believe me but the last thing I remember is that he almost killed me... He fed from me, he already did it with other sparkling before marking him with a knife as he chanted in an unknown language I've never heard before...or after. I don't know how I've survived..." Everyone seemed shocked at that revelation;

"...I thought I was dead, but the next morning _he_ was dead and I was marked...! Years later I've discovered my powers and their price, so a friend of mine created that paralyzer to stop me... Something deep inside always told me to never feed no matter how much I need it, besides that is disgusting... Like Soundwave..." she trailed off with an expression of utter disgust.

"But be sure about something, that whoever did that to Megatron and the others, may come here hungry... I can deduce that if he marks his victims before feeding... And I don't know how to stop him... I don't even know who stopped my sire!" she lied in the end.

...

* * *

The mechs sat there for a while considering everything she said; after all, she seemed to be making an effort to not show any emotion as the story went... But her wings betrayed her.

"I think she said the truth," Magnus pointed. "Maybe there are some things she hid, but honestly I don't think they are relevant to the case."

"Hid? Like what?" Optimus asked very much interested about what his brother may know.

"Personal things; feelings and thoughts about her experience with her sire, I believe." He answered watching her kneel in front of the deceased trine of seekers and lay Ramjet's head on her lap before caressing it softly.

"I better go, I have to keep my word." He said after a moments of silence in which everyone seemed to think too deeply on something.

Ultra Magnus then came next to her, but to his surprise she spoke; "He was my chief bodyguard... My uncle encomended my life to him and his brothers; he was always so respectful of me... I just wish I could have- ... I wish he was still here..."

The blue mech just looked down at her coldly without showing the minimum expression. "Come on, I'll take you with your medic, Hook, him and one of his brothers are the only ones we found online in the Nemesis, the rest is in stasis and that includes your cou- trine."

He corrected himself in time but this time he had no reactions from her, just continued caressing that corpse's head. Then she leaned down and kissed his forehead after saying something in vossian, something personal that made him feel awkward, and then she set him back on the place where he was. She did the same with the other two before lifting from the ground and looked up at him.

"Shall we?" She said and he nodded offering her his arm then walked out.

The Prime and the others observed them walk as they left with varying faces; the Prime with a smile, Prowl with utter mistrust, Jazz with a grin and Ironhide with pity.

...

* * *

As the couple walked, Magnus could not help but ask her some things; "I have millions of questions to ask you and will be very pleased if you're willing to answer them."

She scowled, "Not just you..." then looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Did you know about Shockwave's experiments?" He tried.

"I knew about some of them, the glitch only responded to Megatron and made sure to keep me out of every single one of his projects." She started.

"Why is that?"

"Because he didn't trusted me... And with good reason; if it wasn't for me, we would all be dead because of him. Most of his experiments were about biology, sparks, energon... He created and modified many dangerous diseases that if they ever broke free by a single miscalculation..." She trailed off and let out a sigh. "The chances were... Not good ones." She then looked up at him again. "Why you ask? Something tells me you can't contact with Cybertron, right?"

He nodded. "That's right, we cannot even use the space gate since it needs to be powered from the other end." She snorted at that. "What is it?" He asked.

"I bet he was killed by one of his experiments, he was careless enough to leave unfinished things behind as other new things called his attention." Starscream answered with a scowl. She was obviously not one of the cyclope's fan.

"And what if it wasn't one of his experiments?" Magnus inquired. "If it was someone else?"

"What are you saying, that whoever killed Megatron and the others went after Shockwave too?"

"Maybe... We know that he was experimenting with cloning sparks... He could have taken some of your CNA and clone it into another being without knowing what he was creating." He answered looking down at her who didn't looked surprised at all. "You're... Not surprised." it wasn't a question.

"No," The seeker answered calmly. "I don't know if you read his reports but, no clone survived, no cloning was successful. I made sure of that..." and hearing him not making a sound, she continued. "I made sure that his most dangerous projects fail, all of them. Sometimes I found out too late what he was doing and had to destroy a huge portion of his lab or the base. His experiments on diseases and weapons were usually not too dangerous, but when they were... I destroyed them and every evidence I could get so he would need to start from zero again... And I knew that the creepy bastard never restarted something from the beginning unless Megatron ordered him, which of course never happened."

"Are you sure? It's been months since the last time you could check on him... Or we received any transmission from Cybertron." He tried.

"I'm a hundred percent sure, he tried to clone me, my trine, Ramjet's trine... But he failed because of me... I was always careful to keep an optic on that bastard and made him fail. I had my own spy drones around him."

He nodded, then wondered how much she really controlled in the Decepticon army, after all there was a reason why she was Second in Command. "I know what you're thinking," She started. "I only wanted to protect my family... Not being the boss."

"You already told me that; but, it seems you knew Shockwave perfectly." He said and she snorted in disgust. "I'll take that as a yes; you met him before joining the Decepticons?"

She looked up at him and then around before answering. "Yes… he was part of the scientific council back in Crystal City and very well known on his unorthodox methods of experimenting with everything that crossed his processor as ' _interesting'._ " The seeker then took a breath and lowered her voice so only he could hear her. "Including his sparklings," That almost made him frown, but kept a neutral expression and let her continue. "He was a professor in the academy when I joined, he had always some ideals that made him gain powerful enemies… and one day, out of nowhere he disappeared. No one knew where he left and there were rumours of him being killed by said enemies. Vorns later after I joined the Decepticons I've found him as one of Megatron's lieutenants and head scientist… He was not what I've remembered, his face was removed, his hands… even his colour was not the same."

Starscream took a breath before continuing. "If his spark was dark before, after he was recruited by Megatron it became darker." Magnus watched her talk and she seemed to be describing what she was seeing at the moment. "A creepy monster now from the outside as well as the inside..." She shivered. "The only way I've recognized that it was truly him was because he recognized me as one of his best students… and named many of my projects and the mechs I've met… The enemies my family had… and the mechs that ordered their execution." She said balling her fists tight.

"He _hated_ that city as much as I did; you can say it was the only time we really worked together on something… I just wanted revenge on those disgusting, greedy bastards who dared to kill my family in cold blood."

"Your… family?" He tried. "The shuttles? I thought they left Cybertron."

Starscream sneered at him before hissing. "The only place they left was to the Well of Allsparks! Those pathetic excuses from mechs wanted what my family got with sacrifice and hard work, our knowledges! They annihilate them because they refused to cooperate in giving them what they wanted, they wanted what was not theirs!" She started shaking now in utter rage. "We never lived in Crystal City, in a way to protect ourselves from them, but they tracked us, found us and killed everyone but me!"

Ultra Magnus took all the information she said. The official records of those shuttles suggested they just left to an unknown part of the universe, but the way Starscream was saying those things proved a different version. "They let you go?" He pushed knowing full well that she just wanted to let it out.

"If they ever knew I was alive they wouldn't have wasted a second and would have taken me prisoner until I spit out everything I've knew!" She hissed.

"So, you escaped, and… where does that frozen shuttle you found in the arctic fits into?" Magnus continued.

"We were looking for new energon resources outside Cybertron and we were caught in a blizzard; I've lost him and couldn't find him so I returned home in order to get a search party to this planet..." She trailed off shaking in anger. "And found my home being bombed by mercenaries, hired by those mechs who watched everything from a safe distance!"

"You saw them?"

"Yes! I've saw them! And I've seen my friends and colleagues being killed, my caretakers, my adoptive grandsire...!" Her voice broke but she continued wanting to let it out. "My brother… Jetfire, Skyfire's eldest brother… he made sure I've escaped… I… I couldn't even say goodbye to him..."

She then took some air as if to cooling her frame and hid the tears that wanted to leave her optics. "He activated the self destruction program and the whole base exploded… with him inside..."

Ultra Magnus gulped watching her flow of emotions and feeling her unstable field. "Afterwards, I've returned to Vos having nowhere else to go; Sunblaze took me in… and… I don't wanna talk about it anymore." She suddenly said.

Some things were left out, like the fact that she was living with the shuttles in place of her own family in Vos, he wondered why, but now was not the moment to ask her; maybe she was letting out the rage and pain that she felt at losing those dearest beings for her, but the pain she will feel if she told him the things that were left behind was too big yet, possibly horrible bleeding wounds that were not cicatrized yet and seemed like will never heal.

He considered this for a moment before talking again and change the subject a little after some awkward seconds. "One more question... What you know about the experiment Shockwave made with energy and femmes?" Ultra Magnus questioned once more to see if she would answer.

She didn't looked up at him and shook her head still hiding her face from him and said with a half brokenly voice. "After I answer you this, you will answer all my questions about your life... I think is fair, don't you think? Besides, you owe me some answers already."

Magnus looked down at her and nodded. "I think is fair."

Grinning up at him even when her optics showed other emotions, she started; "It was one of those days I convinced Megatron for him to let me go to check the situation on Cybertron, particularly Darkmount... I knew that Shockwave was up to something because of the last 'confidential' reports he sent to Megatron that were not fully detailed... Well, I was right he was up to something once I reached- AAahhhH!"

The seeker screeched as pain soared from her wing and reached her full sensor net like a tidal wave.

A loud cackle was heard after she fell on her knees. "Did you see how she screeched, Sunny? Like a whore!" Sideswipe cackled closely followed by his twin. They throw a rock at her wing obviously.

"You... You... Fragging aftholes!" Starscream howled in rage before trying to reach for them. She wanted to tear them apart, however Ultra Magnus stopped her as she struggled to get free from his grasp.

The mech kept a cold face as his enraged _mate_ wrestled with his arms and the same time the twins laughed at them, _at him_. A frown crossed his features at their mirth.

They needed to learn a lesson about _respect_.

Without warning and a cold and dark voice he released her after saying: "Make them suffer..."

"Uh?" was the last thing the twins could say before the utterly enraged seeker jumped them and started tearing their armor apart.

"Gaaaahhhh nooooo heeelp, get off you bitch!"

It was hard to say which one of the two said that as she moved so fast when attacked them... It was as if she was possessed! All the anger she had built it was being released now against those two runts.

The alarm sounded and other soldiers came.

"Don't you dare, any of you to stop her! They dared to offend physically and verbaly to _my_ mate, designated for me by Primus himself!" He barked in a dark and cold tone and everyone but her froze in alarm. "And they offended me as well as you know..." He hissed in something that could be considered rage for the usually stoic mech.

"She has my permission to defend _my_ honor..." Magnus added once his optics set on his brother and Prowl who just stood there in shock.

"Not like this, brother," Optimus tried. "We're Autobots..."

"It wasn't very Autobot-like what they did either! I have _my_ rights, they don't." Ultra Magnus hissed and turned back to the now panting seeker. She practically shredded them into pieces... The twins shook and cried like sparklings after being horribly abused.

The Starscream really knew how to be terrifying when she wanted to and now she walked towards Magnus leaving behind her victims. Her field radiated utter anger, rage and hate.

Ultra Magnus then took her by the waist and resumed their walking as everyone moved away from their path without making a sound.

"How are you feeling? Does your wing hurts?" He asked after a while and she said no with her head. "I can guess those two won't dare to do anything against you or me anymore."

"Don't be so sure, those two cowards are pranksters for a reason, they may try something when we're not looking." She said harshly.

"Then... I give you permission to protect our honor when you suspect of them, let me handle the others if they try anything."

"Really?" She looked up at him and her field felt more calmed.

He nodded then watched her and how she held something in her hand. "A souvenir from your experience? I think one optic from each twin would make a good trophy." He joked, or tried to.

She didn't answered and kept her hand closed for a while before opening it and revealing a golden seal... A _royal_ seal.

Suspecting what it was, Magnus took her hand gently and forced her to close it back in a little fist. "You better hide that." He advised and without a word she obeyed.

...

* * *

They walked in silence until they reached the brig and Hook's cell.

"Hook!" She exclaimed at the sight of her friend and current father figure.

"Child!" The old engineer responded seconds after hearing her voice and seeing he was not hallucinating. Then Ultra Magnus deactivated the bars and Hook ran to hug her tightly; she did the same.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you're alive!" He said without letting her go and tears started forming at the corner of his optics.

"Star? Is that you, child?" Another very much familiar voice sounded and both her and the former CMO turned to see him.

"Scrapper? ...Scrapper!" Both femme and medic exclaimed in mirth before reaching for him and hugged him and he hugged them back.

The flow of emotions was so many that Ultra Magnus decided to put some order. "Come on, get into one of the cells then you can continue with your meeting."

They just looked at him and without another word, obeyed, after all they had lots of things to say to each other.

_..._


	27. Twenty three

**Twenty Three**

The three decepticons stayed there in the same open cell for hours, talking and talking about everything, even about Ultra Magnus.

"You know, he came here and told me that you were still alive, I hadn't believed him in the beginning but then he told me about what you did and what the Prime forced on you two, I think that's disgusting, you both should be agreed with it not just 'Primus'; but anyways, he came here asking me why you hadn't woken up yet and I told him that I didn't know, I really didn't, so I told him that you like some candies after waking up..."

And so on and on they continued until finally Starscream cuddled against Hook's chest and started dozing off, the old constructicon then started rocking her back and forth softly as if she was a baby. She didn't complained and actually enjoyed it and let herself be lulled into recharge.

Noticing her behaviour, Ultra Magnus got up from his chair and walked towards them. "Good, visit is over." having said that he bent down to reach for her in order to awake her but Hook stopped him.

"Please, don't... She needs to sleep, please, let her have her rest..."

"She needs to return with me to my quarters." Magnus answered and tried to reach for her again, however, once again was stopped by Hook.

"Then be a gentlemech and take her up, please, she needs it..." He saw that Magnus was going to interrupt him again. "She cannot sleep alone, she have nightmares, vivid ones, so please, don't leave her alone and allow her to sleep... She looks so calmed now."

"What my brother here says is, carry her. She cannot hear us right now but feels our presence," Scrapper said before adding. "She needs someone to sleep with her... Otherwise she won't be able to recharge properly."

Lifting an optic ridge, Ultra Magnus wondered what did they mean by it, "I don't think I understand..." he said.

"Just, be gentle with her, gain her trust... Help her to sleep." Hook whispered trying his best to not annoy her out of her dreams.

' _Why should I_?' Magnus wondered to himself before remembering that he was trying to make peace with her in order to live in peace AND for her to extract revenge on his brother. "Fine." He said before taking her on his arms bridal style. "Now, you two, get back to your cells." He added.

Once both mechs were in their respective cells, Magnus started walking away; but before he could leave Hook addressed him. "Please, tell us when we will be free again?"

"That is Prime's decision." He said before leaving the brig with the seeker in his arms.

After another awkward walking to his quarters -that included several mechs' teasings no matter how hard he looked at them- he finally reached it and once in set the femme on his new and bigger berth.

"Good, at least there's enough space for both of us." He said before sitting on it considering if he should stay and recharge next to her... Or go back to his office and finish up some reports.

It seemed Primus' doing what happened next...

::" _Brother, I just received the report that you just returned with your mate back to your quarters, stay with her for tonight, that's an order_."::

...or maybe it was Unicron's doing!

"Optimus, I have work to finish, you can't condemn me to-" He tried but the Prime interrupted him.

::" _Prowl will take care of it, meanwhile you will take care of Starscream. I want you to know each other._ "::

Ultra Magnus' face was priceless, his mouth hanging open and his blue optics open like a couple of round plates. "I'm not her babysitter!" he hissed trying to be not loud enough to awake her.

::" _No, you're her mate and will treat her accordingly; I'll give you some days so you will be able to know each other better. And by the way, be careful, she might try to manipulate you by using your common ideas on this. Be safe, brother._ "::

"Wait! Please.. _.._ " and the Prime waited on line. "Didn't you said she was useless because she's unable to carry? Maybe you can release us, we can't do it... I'll wait for another femme if necessary."

Silence filled the line for a few tense seconds. ::" _There's nothing I can do; Primus will tell, not me. He will be the one to decide if you must be together and for how long, he's the one who will say if you will produce a sparkling with her, not Ratchet or his reports. I will only say his words... And he wants you to be a mate for her... To heal her wounds... For her to heal yours..._ "::

Dread filled his thoughts for a minute. "I'm not hurt! I've had a perfect life and everything I could have ever wished!" Magnus finally barked. However, Starscream didn't awaken and barely contained her face in annoyance.

::" _Is that so, Dion? I know you since the day you onlined... I know what you're missing._ "::

"Shut up! You know nothing! And certainly I. Don't. Need. Her! And obviously she doesn't needs me either, she will be much better on her own!" He barked uncharacteristically.

The Prime's sigh could be heard through the comm. ::" _Just stay with her, Dion, that's an order."::_ And with that the connection was over leaving a stunned and full of rage Ultra Magnus.

How can he fall asleep like that now?!

"I was on my own for so long that if you let me go now there would be no difference."

He turned to face a now fully awake seeker. "Why you had to be a femme?!" He asked in barely contained rage but no less venom.

"I've been wondering myself the same every day of my existence; everything would have been so much easier if I was a mech... I would have been someone... Not just a femme in disguise that had to _act_ like the worst shit the universe ever produced so no one will ever dare to look at me appealing for anything else than a beating!" She said as rage also built itself in her. "And for what? Just to be discovered one day and be named someone's breeder?! Don't I deserve the death penalty at least like a common criminal, a normal _mech_?!"

She huffed in annoyance. "No! Because I'm a fragging _femme_!" she shrieked in the end. "I _HATE_ to be a femme! I hate it!"

Magnus watched her wings held high and rattling in rage as she panted for air just before laying back on the berth and shake in barely contained hate.

"Then is time to tell you something... That the one who put us in this situation must pay..." He trailed off darkly.

The seeker didn't reacted, so Magnus continued. "I need your help in something that will satisfy both of us." She continues without recognizing him.

He sighed then. He needed to approach her by a different angle.

"When I was a sparkling, my creators were murdered by rebels... Now known as Decepticons; they were good bots, loved to help... I still don't understand why would someone want to kill them..." Magnus started.

"They were from high families of Iaconian politicians and were arranged to bond when sparklings, they get along with each other understanding that their situation was permanent and it will be easier for both if they behaved. They were good creators... Even if they were not going at each other like petrorabits, I think they loved each other somehow... I barely remember them, was too young when they left."

Starscream looked up at him listening every word that came from his mouth as she calmed a little bit.

"But I was sure they loved us... That is why I said that a certain arraignment must exist between a couple to have a sparkling, they loved us and that is why we are not... Crazy.."

He looked down at her who was looking at him intently with one optic ridge lifted. "Well... Optimus... He..." Magnus then let out another sigh and continued now that he had an audience. "Optimus was betrothed to Elita when they were practically sparked... I wasn't... I made sure of it; but anyways, when my creators left, our grandcreator Alpha Trion took care from us, but still, I fought him and everyone, I've never wanted to bond, I like to be a single mech, with my own responsibilities, without ties, without worrying about anyone else but myself..." He trailed off to take more air in order to continue.

"That would explain why you're not the leader or don't want to be," Starscream said and he looked down at her with a frown which of course haven't intimidated her. "It's normal to be selfish, being created with so many talents... And being afraid of losing them if we take the responsibility they want us to assume."

"What you mean?" Magnus demanded.

"I've heard about you and how you reject every opportunity you have to become a leader, saying that you're no more than a soldier. I know why... Because you're afraid of failure, right? I know that feeling, more than you think... You don't want to fail in something you don't know... I know..." Starscream said.

"You do? Then, you would have rejected the offer to become Decepticon leader if the opportunity ever arises? Is hard to believe after all the rumors." Magnus stated waiting for her reaction. He knew what she thought about the position of being Decepticon leader.

"Yes I would have rejected it, and the rumours are just that, rumours... I've even rejected become Winglord before," She stated bitterly and his optics widened at the confession. "Just... Was forced to be because there was no other heir... Or anyone wanted to sit on that chair... But I can't be forced to be Decepticon leader, no matter what... I just want my family to be safe, to be happy, to have a life. I was denied for a life for so long, I cannot remember what happiness feels like... And being a leader... For me that means give your life away, your happiness away."

She hid her face from him and he knew she was trying in vain to hide her pain. Magnus considered asking more about her life, but he realized if he tells more about _his_ life, she will let go information about hers. It was simple logic and psychology, she was in pain and wanted to release it... Somehow.

"I can say I was happy in a sense... I've had everything I've ever wanted, all the toys and even convinced my grandsire to leave me alone with the bonding thing." He continued then.

"Yes... You said to me the conditions he gave you to bond." She said.

"Correct...so I focused on my studies so I would keep myself away from any potential suitors that may give my grandsire an offer... But still, mechs are everywhere..." The mech trailed off with a hint of bitterness.

Starscream just looked up at him as if asking him what he meant, so he answered. "I haven't realized that the mechs that were in the libraries and universities were more insistent and aggressive than normal mechs... I had a suitor once... And had to reject him many times as he couldn't quite understand that I didn't wanted what he wanted."

He came and visited me every day, make sure to be in all my classes... Make sure to be my brother's friend..." He gulped and took air to release what he was about to reveal. "And now is his Second in Command."

Starscream's face lifted up with huge optics; many things make sense now, at least with that mech's behaviour and his words. Could it be? Was he jealous of her because she _took_ the mech he was chasing all this long? What an idiot. Haven't he realized that she was here against her will?

"What?" He asked watching her expression.

"Hmm... Nothing, just thinking." she shrugged.

"About?" He insisted.

"How there are idiots around that can't understand that 'no' means 'no' not 'try harder because I really like you.'"

Ultra Magnus snorted at that and smiled. It was fun to hear it from Starscream because what she said is true, that was exactly the reason why Prowl acted the way he acted, he was still chasing him after all this time!

"I'll go straight to the point now that we feel better," He decided to change the subject and Starscream sit straighter. "I want you to plan something to make my brother pay for what he's forcing on us... And poisoning my energon to make me aroused against my will and do… what you saw last time... So, it's your call, you can do anything you please, even blow up his aft in pieces... But just his aft."

Starscream's amused face made him feel uneasy at first, then she spoke. "I cannot believe what I'm hearing," Starscream said as she looked up at him straight in the optics. "The Magnus wants me to do... _And_ the Prime did..." She then trailed off as realization hit her and a frown with a smirk crossed her features. "I think I have the perfect punishment for him..."

"What is it?"

"Something that won't kill him but will screw up his plans... You will see, besides, I think I've told you that planting bombs is not my style."

"Yeah... I think I remember something like that..." He mused.

"Hmmm... Ok... Whatever... To start, I need access to the lab." Starscream pointed.

...

* * *

**Later...**

"What was that? I mean, the golden royal seal, is it yours?" He asked about the object she confiscated from the twins and she nodded. "Can I see it?"

She unsubspaced it and passed it to him without looking at it or him, her work was more important. It was a while since he granted her access to the lab and it was late enough for everyone, including Perceptor to be recharging.

"Primus..." Magnus gasped. It seemed like a very expensive thing. In other times this would have made possible for a mech or a femme to buy an apartment in one of the best towers in Iacon. Then he opened it and there was an inscription in it. It was seeker chant or vossian and he wondered if the twins could read it.

" _Star-cry._.." He chanted and she looked up at him in alarm.

"What...did you say?" The femme whispered and almost choked.

Magnus then looked up at her and then at the object. "If my vossian is correct, is what it says... It can also be translated as... An agonizing star..." Then looked up at her in shock. "...Starscream."

The seeker then wrinkled her nose before turning back to her work, an angered look invaded her optics.

"Is this really yours?" He asked and she just nodded without facing him. "Is this your real name, Starcr-" he tried but was interrupted.

"Yes! Ok, yes! It can be translated as many other ways you please but in the end they all means the same, ok?! Frag, just drop it!" She hissed in annoyance with a thread of sadness.

"Is a terribly sad name..." He decided to voice his opinion feeling even worse for her. What kind of designation was that?

"Blame my carrier, she's the one who named us..." Starscream realized too late what she said and Magnus' optics widened at the sudden revelation. "Frag..."

"Us?" He repeated. "Who else?"

"I don't wanna talk about it, ok?" She really didn't, just finish her work.

Without her answer and just that hint he could deduce she had a brother or sister who was dead... Who was possibly the other sparkling she described when the interrogation took place... The one who her sire fed from and killed.

At those thoughts his spark filled with dread and disgust. She was so young when abused and it seemed she watched her brother or sister being murdered before her optics. It was normal she didn't wanted to talk about it, it can bring so many painful memories.

...

* * *

Minutes passed in awkward silence and she wondered how many things Ultra Magnus deduced from her little slip.

"What was his or her designation?" That answered her question as Magnus asked her what she buried for so long and wanted to keep it like that... So long since she was capable of uttering her beloved little brother's name.

"Don't you prefer to know why that thing was in the twins' hands?" She tried to change the subject.

"Ok, why?" Magnus then said following her current.

"I gave it to their carrier once I've found him running away from their sire, a crazy mech who was powerful enough to experiment with everything he wanted, even his split spark twins. We both know him as Shockwave." She said hurriedly wanting to finish her job and heard the silence that followed knowing that Magnus was putting the pieces she gave him earlier together.

Several minutes passed in silence, Starscream could swear she heard his processor processing things in all that silence; it was better than him asking her about her family.

"So, you had siblings?" The mech tried again and the bottle she was holding cracked at the strenght she pressed it.

"Aren't you going to drop it?" Starscream said in annoyance at his insistence.

"No. Can you tell me his or her name?" He insisted.

"No, can you tell me more about your life with Prowl?" She bit back. "I think I've told you enough for you to tell me half of your life."

"My life is uninteresting and has no mysteries like yours have, so, tell me, what was your sibling's name?"

Starscream froze, she couldn't bit back a way out of it; it was like something was choking her… and Magnus continued insisting.

And insisting…

And insisting…

She just wanted him to shut up, but the tornado of feelings that invaded her spark forbid her to yell at him to shut up and quit it.

' _Primus..._ ' She thought as her own spark betrayed her and paralyzed her body. ' _Make him shut up… please..._ '

Maybe their god will be merciful this time for her, right?

...Or maybe not as Ultra Magnus continued insisting.

When was the last time their god made something for her anyways?

...


	28. Twenty-four

**Twenty-four**

...

Starscream felt as if something had clamped shut her mouth. After Magnus' insistent questions she wanted to say it... To remember him and how much they loved each other.

They were so young when separated by a cruel disgusting act by their sire that his name was sealed in the deepest reaches of her spark, carefully and protectively locked away.

She missed her brother so much, her twin, her other half, that the only way that the flier could pronounce his name again was if she saw him again. She just couldn't say it now.

In the end the she gave the only answer she could and simply shook her head.

"Was it a mech or femme?" Ultra Magnus insisted, almost cruelly in his curiosity.

She could only breathe a gasp as her whole body stayed coldly paralyzed.

"And... His... Name?" The other tried, still determined to find out as Starscream didn't answer. He couldn't see her devastated face and expression after all, and didn't know to stop pushing the upset femme.

"Shut up..." Starscream said lowly and Magnus ignored it.

"Was he or she older or younger than you?" He pressed.

"Shut up..." She started shaking in mixed feelings.

"Was his or her name like yours, Star?" He took a step closer.

"P-please, shut up!" The seeker let go of the tubes she had in her shaking hands and they went to cover her audios firmly. Memories of her and her little brother together ruthlessly invaded her mind; she could even swear that it was happening all over again!

"What was his colour? Was it a mech? Why do I believe it was a mech?" Question after thoughtless question left Magnus's mouth.

" _ **Shut up**_!" Starscream turned her tear stained face on the Autobot, expression twisted in anger as she yelled at him over and over again, holding her head and crying as if the images called up by the larger bot hurt like burning acid inside her head. " _ **Shut the frag up! Shut up! Shut up!**_ " The seeker screamed mindlessly until she fell on her knees to the floor with a crack, cries dying into whispers: " _ **Shut up…!**_ "

Magnus stared down at her with more than a little worry and surprise on his optics lighted on her suffering. "I was just curi-" He was about to say when someone loudly interrupted him.

"Stop asking her!" An enraged voice demanded and made him jump from his seat; it was the first time he had heard this particular mech this angry. "Can't you see you're hurting her? You fragging afthole!"

Wheeljack strode out from the shadows and knelt before her trembling frame, spreading his arms open in a caring gesture before slowly reaching for her and embracing her, holding her carefully to the warmth of his frame.

Starscream was too shaken to care who was the mech holding her so gently, she just learned against him heavily and sobbed quietly, her frame wracked with trembling.

The engineer looked up at Ultra Magnus with a cold and hateful frown. "You should be ashamed, Magnus. The fact that you don't want her doesn't give you permission to hurt her like this!" He barked at the other mech, who stared silently back. "You're pathetic! You disgusting piece of slag, you don't even deserve to be given the title of mech!" He growled, helm fins flashing as he held her tighter to him and stroked the seeker's back. "How dare you to do this to her knowing full well what hurts her most?!"

The inventor looked down at her and directed his next words to the shaking seeker. "If I was you, I wouldn't deign to speak to him ever again about anything. Not even the weather! He's an expert in verbal torture… and can't help it..." He directed his icy glare towards the blue mech again. "He's no less a monster than Megatron or you when you're under the influence of that cruel curse."

Starscream's optics slowly onlined fully, feeling even more stupid than before. She'd trusted this mech, that Autobot… and look what it had done to her. The flier's spark ached at the realization that she was practically alone again and that Magnus had lied to her, and betrayed her trust… Something so very hard to gain, yet so easy to lose.

She'd showed him a piece of her spark, her very soul, and for what? For him to dig into her scarred sense of self and cause even more damage?

"I've never agreed with this," Wheeljack added softly. "It is not your fault."

The flier dried her tears with the back of her hand before pulling gently away from the engineer's embrace and stood, him following suit. "Thank you..." She whispered to him with her head down, gaze on the floor, and started walking towards the exit of the lab.

It only took Magnus a second to realize what she was doing. "Where do you think you're going? Starscream! Get back here!" He almost ran after her rapidly retreating frame.

She left the lab and walked quickly towards the exit; at least she knew where that was, where the sky was… However, Magnus was quickly on her heels.

"Starscream!" The Autobot tried to take her arm but she almost violently shook him off, then attempted to catch her hand but she repeated the same motion. "Starscream! That's not the direction of my quarters, Starscream!"

The seeker didn't respond and continued in her stride, until he took her roughly by a wing and made her turn to face him; which only gained him a punch straight to his face and a sharp kick between his legs. Everything happened so fast that he was unable to even think about stopping her from doing it.

Immediately the alarm went off and soldiers ran towards their location to block her path. " _No_..." Magnus barely whispered trying to reach for her from his position on the ground; her kick had hurt like the pit; no doubt as the seeker's legs were the strongest part of the frame type, he felt like his crotch had been forced up into his mouth!

Starscream stopped in her tracks, vents trying desperately to expel hot air from the burning rage in her systems, and the soldiers pointed their guns at her.

"Let her go..." A booming voice demanded and the mechs lowered their weapons before stepping obediently out of her path. Without any further obstacles, she carried on until she reached the exit and instantly flew away at her impressive top speed.

Optimus Prime dismissed his bots, quickly finding himself almost alone with his brother apart from Elita One and Wheeljack who were accompanying him. The Prime looked down on Magnus with a disappointed frown and pointedly shook his head.

Without another word, Optimus took Magnus' arm roughly and dragged him back through the passageways.

…

* * *

Starscream didn't fly very far away. She stopped once she reached a coast with a nice looking beach, landing and falling to her knees. Leaning against a rounded rock for support, there the seeker cried inconsolably against the cold, firm surface.

Too many things burned agonisingly in her processor, but what hurt the most was her spark. Painful memories she had suffered over time assaulted her processor, but none hurt more than trusting someone and then being betrayed by him after showing him a piece of her carefully guarded spark.

Wheeljack was right; Ultra Magnus was a monster, even worse than… than her sire. At least the latter never tried to gain her trust in the beginning. He'd always shown her his true colours. That the Autobot had hidden his nature from her to trick her into letting her guard down with him, and then betrayed the seeker later by taking more than was offered when it already felt like more than enough, made him even more vile than the beast who had raised her.

A strong wind that made the palms bend around her hid her cries, her misery, her aching spark… and the rain that followed completed the feeling of isolation that was drowning her soul.

"S-Sssun… s-s..." She tried to say her little brother's name, how much she loved him, and how much she missed him. Starscream clutched her chest in pain and continued crying for the whole night in spark deep anguish.

…

* * *

"Y-you let her go?!" Ultra Magnus barked at his brother once he recovered his voice as they gained the relative privacy of a closed door. "That ea-!" He was about to say something else but was sternly interrupted.

Optimus Prime backhanded him so hard that he was sent spiralling backwards to collide painfully with the wall behind him; the Prime looking at him with utterly enraged optics like he'd never seen in his eldest brother before.

Magnus tentatively touched his abused cheek with the tips of his digits and looked at his leader and brother, stunned. It was as if he was suddenly facing Unicron himself and was being judged for a terrible crime.

"I never thought _you_ of all mechs would do such a thing. You knew she was abused; you are smart and would have deduced that her sibling's death was not pleasant and would be painful for her to remember, and yet continued, and continued interrogating her over the matter! What the frag is wrong with you?" Optimus mused darkly.

"If I hadn't let her go, she would have used her powers again to get out and would have died! Is that what you want, for her to die in anger that was caused by you?!" Prime snarled at his fallen brother, shaking in rage and engines rumbling ominously. "Answer me!" He took Magnus' collar bone firmly in his hand to bring their faces closer together, azure optics burning like an icy fire.

"You knew I've never wanted her!" Ultra Magnus bit back; but that only pricked Optimus's temper all the more.

"That doesn't give you the right to hurt her!" Prime roared. "She's your mate, I thought you had already accepted that, but you were faking it! How dare you despise something Primus himself gave you?!"

Ultra Magnus knew that fighting his brother would only get him in more trouble, so he kept his head down respectfully and didn't answer.

Approaching steps and the swish of the door opening were heard before an old green mech looked from one occupant of the room to another. "Where is she? What have you done to her?!" Hook demanded; tone making it clear he was getting desperate.

"She's fine, a little stressed but fine. Starscream went for a night fly and has settled on a nearby beach, don't worry." Elita sought to reassure the former CMO and motioned for him to take a seat.

"A _little_ stressed? Starscream is _never_ a _little_ stressed! What the frag happened here? What did _he_ do to her?!" Hook challenged, pointing a sharp digit at Ultra Magnus.

"That is what we want to know," Prime replied darkly. "He insisted that she tell him about her sibling..."

Hook's optics widened in shock. "Can you tell us what happened?" Politely as ever, Elita One addressed the old Decepticon. "With her brother... Or sister?"

Taking a deep breath, Hook took a seat on a nearby chair and rubbed his face with both hands as if in a way cleansing his guilt for the knowledge he had, then finally looked up at the femme and the others. "You have to promise me... that you will stop asking her questions about her family. It has nothing to do with the Decepticons or the Autobots and the knowledge is useless to all of you and the war... It can only serve the purpose of gossip among others."

"We promise..." Elita subtlety checked with the others, giving them each a look which they answered with a discreet nod.

"We promise." The Prime repeated, voice a bit softer than it was earlier; as the old engineer dipped his helm and let out a deep sigh as if preparing for some huge weight to be placed upon him.

"She had a brother once..." Hook briefly fell silent, steeling himself for the things he was about to confide in the group of his old enemies. "As far as I knew he was her split spark twin."

An ambience of dread lay heavily over the room and the temperature seemed to drop, making the listeners of the story shiver involuntarily.

"I didn't know it was even possible for that to happen; a mech and a femme coming from the same spark... It was what her carrier told me when I asked her about them but I never asked her how she did it. I'd seen her come and go, holding the little creatures in her hands as I helped build the tower her sire had ordered for me to do. He was an impatient mech and my team and I worked as fast as we could to complete it, and once it was finally finished, we left." Hook explained. "That's all I knew and never saw of them until years later when she joined the Decepticons..." The medic trailed off and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"I asked her about her brother and mentioned her creators once, and she paled and almost fainted." His optics lightened in recalled memories. "Her trine almost killed me and my brothers just for asking. She told me that her sire murdered her carrier and brother..." The former CMO sighed and shook his head. "I never asked again after that reaction. Nor did I want to see her suffering like that anymore. I could see that the wounds her sire left in her are still open and raw..."

Hook's gaze suddenly lifted and with an icy and sharp look caught Ultra Magnus's optic. "But you, you fragging afthole, dared to ask. To dig more into her past that you knew caused her distress, right? To hurt her!"

"It is not my fault she's weak." Magnus replied in the same manner, surprising even himself and wondering why he had said such a sparkless thing.

"Weak?! **_Weak_**?! You're the one who's weak! Hurting others with the talent Primus gave you and continuing even after she told you to stop! You're pathetic, and the only way you had to feel like something bigger was hurting her!" Hook snapped.

Ultra Magnus then opted again to stay quiet, knowing that no one was on his side now.

It didn't matter that Starscream was a Decepticon and hated by everyone. What mattered was what he did, this little slip...

A little slip that had transformed him into a monster in everyone's optics.

"Maybe you should give her to someone else who doesn't seek to hurt her." Magnus mumbled petulantly and everyone looked down at him in different stages of anger.

"That is not for me to decide, it is Primus's decision; and next time you see Starscream, you will apologise to her, is that understood?" Optimus declared watching his brother's anger but not caring at all, silently daring the younger to contradict his order and knowing he wouldn't dare.

...

* * *

 **Later**...

"We must go and retrieve her from the beach. I just hope she feels better by now." The Prime spoke softly to his assembled soldiers and they obediently started moving.

"Sir, she can be dangerous in the state she finds herself." Prowl reminded Optimus out of earshot of the others, but his leader shook his head.

"I don't think so, and in any case we are taking Hook. She wouldn't dare to harm us with him there with us." Optimus answered confidently.

Prowl seemed doubtful but said nothing, just nodded at his Commander.

"Autobots, let's roll out!"

...

* * *

Starscream sat on the white sands in the beach with a lost gaze towards the rippling ocean; the sun started rising before, but the clouds were still covering the heavens and some drops of rain were still pattering down on the water.

In a few words, she felt like slag, thinking about a past that had no future but one she couldn't let go off nevertheless, no matter how much she wanted to and the pain it caused her. Starscream believed that if she forgot it that it would somehow happen again. Or, even worse, that she would be betraying her beloved little brother.

The Seeker hugged her legs, feeling the cold rain drops over her delicate first armour. Something she hadn't felt in a long while and the remembered sensation prevented her from falling into a deep trance. But couldn't prevent her from falling asleep...

Suddenly, the temperature dropped drastically and somehow the sky became darker around her.

Onlining her optics one more time, Starscream saw how the shadows she feared so much were starting towards her, ready to rip apart her weakened spark.

Starscream offlined her optics, accepting her fate...

If her destiny was to die like her sire, so be it.

"TC... Warp... Primus, please protect them..."

...

* * *

"Uhh!" The Prime left the road and hurried towards the Seeker's location.

"Prime! Is everything alright?" Prowl asked concernedly, feeling as if something was wrong with his leader.

"No, hurry, we need to get to her soon!" Prime exclaimed and everyone's pace quickened.

In no time at all they had reached the flier. She hadn't moved or felt the unusual change of temperature. However, the Prime felt something else...

Starscream laid flat on her winged back on the sands that whispered in the wind, her colours dull and almost no energy detectable from her spark.

Optimus froze for a second when he thought he caught out of the corner of his optic something crawling away from her, something creepy that almost froze the truck's circuits as he wondered if anyone else saw it.

"Child!" Hook ran to her body and lifted up her head which lolled to the side, unresponsive. "Answer me, child! Please!"

"Get her into my trailer; we need to get her back to the medbay soon!" Prime ordered and without hesitation, Hook picked her up carried the winged femme into the trailer and laid her out tenderly within it.

Without wasting another second, Optimus hit the road at a strong speed, all the time checking on her vitals... She was important. Primus had told him so, and he obeyed their god with his whole spark.

"What was that?" The Prime suddenly asked and his passenger, Hook, looked up curiously at the trailer's walls.

"What was what?" the engineer responded.

"That dark eerie thing I saw slinking away from her..." The Prime trailed off praying that the other didn't think he was crazy.

Hook stayed silent far too long after that for the truck's liking. "Hook?"

"You've seen them?" The former CMO gulped.

"Seen what?" A sense of foreboding settled in the Autobot's bright spark.

"The shadows. She mentioned a few times that she never liked to be alone at the mercy of the creatures that crawled in the shadows... But we never believed her. She did grow desperate when alone but we thought it was because of how much she had suffered in the night. But one day she said that those creatures would come to rip out her spark and that was the reason she always slept in the company and safety of her trine."

Optimus processed this. He knew he wasn't glitching after Hook's explanation and that gave him some comfort; knowing what it was he saw, or so he thought.

"If you've seen them... It means it is true. And now her spark is even weaker and she was terrified before when she was healthy!" Hook exclaimed in worry.

"I can see that..." The larger mech went deep into thought. What if that was the reason she almost died on them before Ratchet could fix her? Because she needed someone there to look after her spark.

"Come on, child, you have to resist... They need you, you cannot abandon them." Hook tried to rouse the Seeker.

' _Was he talking about her trine?_ ' The Prime wondered.

Hook then directed his gaze back towards the trailer's walls. "Prime, please... Let her trine be with her. She needs them more than ever now." Optimus remained in silence so he continued. "They are the only ones who care enough for her to truly help her recover. I don't know how but their presence always makes her feel better as if they shared their energy with her... Please?"

"I will consider it," the Prime conceded after a moment, "I don't want them to be a danger to my Autobots."

"They wouldn't dare do anything if their cousin is safe first!" The Decepticon assured firmly, trying to help his and Starscream's case.

Optimus almost hit the break and stopped in shock, but continued driving fast back to the Ark. "What did you say?"

"You heard. They are the last of her family and her trine, she needs them now more than ever! Please Prime... Unless you want her to die and I know you don't."

...

* * *

**Later...**

**The Ark's medbay.**

**Stasis pods storage room.**

"Are you sure about this, Prime?" Ratchet asked worriedly.

"I don't know..." Optimus contemplated the sleeping frames of Skywarp and Thundercracker, considering whether he should awaken them or not; after all, if he did, Starscream would regain close allies and the power to do as she pleased.

It was a hard decision.

If he roused them, she might decide to just fly away with her fellow Seekers... and he would not let that happen.

No matter what.

...


	29. Twenty-five

**Twenty-five**

...

Starscream lay on a medical berth panting and gasping as in agony even when still unconscious.

"Her spark is in agony and we cannot give her any painkillers, is too risky! Her spark will not resist!" First Aid declared to a very much worried Hook.

"Hook! There's nothing we can do, come on..." Scrapper said doing his best to not comfort so openly to his brother in front of the autobots.

The former decepticon CMO just looked down at her trying hard to keep his tears to himself.

"Star... You must resist ," Hook whispered in vossian, a language he learned while working in Vos thanks to Starscream's carrier. "You cannot leave them alone..."

...

* * *

 **Meanwhile**...

Wheeljack stared at the lavender datapad that was left behind by the seeker in the lab and onlined it.

Looking at the glyphs that appeared on the screen and reading them he smiled.

"Interesting... So, this is her revenge? Innocent, yet annoying for the receptor." He said taking his hand to his facemask in thought. "Maybe I should help her, it will make her happy to get some of this done once she awakes. Besides, I think he deserves it..." The last was said with a frown and a smirk, hidden by his mask.

With that thought in mind he reached for the ingredients the script in the datapad mentioned and once he reached them started mixing them.

...

* * *

**Medbay...**

**Later that day...**

Hook and Scrapper held Starscream's dull colored and almost cold body as she shook and moaned weakly as if her body was submerged in a cold fever.

Starscream felt horrible in few words and from time to time she felt as if she completely lose consciousness before returning again but not quite completely... The two mechs that stayed with her were the only thing that barely anchored her to that world.

The blissful darkness called her, a realm of no pain and the soothing comfort of nothingness tempted her spark to leave its chamber for a better place.

Starscream resisted the best she could hearing Hook's voice reminding her of her sleeping cousins that will need her and feel her loss greatly, but the soft and soothing winds of nothingness pulled her away from her friend and medic more and more...

...until there was no more pain, no more coldness.

And with a last weak gasp, Starscream's body went lax, colder and grey in Hook's arms.

"Starscream!" Hook screamed calling the seeker trying to make her back.

...

* * *

"Star?"

The seeker onlined her optics at the mention of her name and looked around.

There she was again, back in Vos... In the royal tower, dressing a golden cape and in her head a crown of golden leaves that signaled her position as the Winglord's successor.

She was laying on a comfy bench before lifting herself up weakly on her left side and looked around for the one who called her name. A thin, delicate golden thread was still tied to her wrist as if barely keeping her life.

Suddenly, the lights that surrounded her in that hall started fading before a hand took her by the wrist surprising her. The lights remained dim however.

"Star... My Winglord... Please... Don't!" It was Ramjet's voice and his hand that was holding her now, helping the little defenseless thread in it's task of keeping her from leaving. "Please... Fight! Remember, you're not alone! You're needed..."

"Ramjet... I'm so... Tired..." She whispered brokenly in a whisper that could be described as a sparkling who begged for a nap... and so the lights dimmed further.

"I know... Soon everything will be over, please resist!" He tried holding her hand tighter in his own bigger ones. "Soon you will rest... But for now, please resist highness!"

Her head lolled to the side and she felt the little relief that giving up gave her, as if her head rested on the most comfortable and comfiest of pillows ever created. "I know is selfish, but I'm tired... So tired..." She whispered with her now offlined optics.

"No!" Ramjet's fading voice was heard as the hall in which they were turned completely dark.

...

* * *

Before her conscience faded completely and her spark turned into dust, Starscream could see her life passing through her optics. " _Was it a dream_?" She wondered.

" _Is life really and nothing more than a dream and the reality is that we never lived at all?_

_Was all my suffering and pain...nothing?_

_Was everything I've thought I've lived...nothing?_

_Nothing existed?_

_Not even the ones I've loved?_ "

Her spark started fading in the darkness as she questioned her existence, consumed by it...and somehow, no matter how selfish it sounded, it couldn't have cared less to Starscream.

...

* * *

" _You selfish bastard!_ " An utterly angered voice sounded in the darkness of Ultra Magnus' quarters making him gasp and look around.

...but no one was there... And he knew he was alone.

The mech looked around frantically thinking if what he just heard was real… such tone...

Somehow he started feeling guilty for what he did, he shouldn't have pushed when she told him to shut up the first time.

"Frag," He said before getting up from his bigger berth and walked towards the medbay.

Later when he reached it he could see a lamenting Hook and the Starscream...

...lying grey and cold on the medical berth with her nonresponding head lolled to the side, her mouth open in a little gap as if it was the exit her soul used to escape the constant torment that was her miserable life..

Dread filled his spark; Did he really caused this?

He was having an internal conflict; one side felt mortally guilty because she did nothing to him in this days when Prime forced her with him, the other was happy because two reasons: one, the Starscream, hated SIC from the Decepticons, a murderer and a war criminal was dead, and two: he was free from any engagement since luckily for him there were no femmes near and his brother will never force him with a mech.

"No... She cannot die..." Hook cried and took a device from First Aid's hands. "She can't...!" He declared before opening her chest and lined the device to her spark chamber. "She's still warm... Her spark is still close... You will come back! You're needed!" He said turning it on and scream; "Clear!" And a bolt of electricity ran by her body making her jump slightly from the berth; However, she didn't respond. "Clear!"

...

* * *

"Starscream!"

She seemed to open and online her optics again but tiredly, and this time she was sitting on the roof of the royal tower in Vos looking at nothing...or maybe the empty vastness that awaited her. Sometimes she used to go there when desired to be alone and write in her diary how bad was her day; actually, she couldn't practically remember writing a happy moment in it... However, now everything was so dark and desolate to even look at somewhere or write in her eternally loyal datapad. The only light came from Cybertron's moons and even that was fading as well as a strange and eerie mist started covering everything making everything even darker than it was already.

"Answer me when I speak to you, young lady!" The mech barked annoyed at her lack of response and his steps could be heard closer.

That voice... She recognized it….There was only one mech who called her like that. She turned her head tiredly as if it was some kind of annoyance that the act itself was needed to meet him… and right there next to her was him….her uncle, Sunblaze.

"Hmm...?" Was everything Starscream could answer with little interest as the strange fog that surrounded the base of the other towers started rising towards them fast as if it was in some kind of hurry for engulfing her spark, or to finish a job that it was doing with a bad attitude because reasons.

"That is not the way of answering your eldest!" The golden mech barked at her annoyingly before deciding to calm down, it was better if he used another approach to her in this situation or she might just decide to let it go again. Sighing out his anger he continued. "That is not the reason I'm here... Starscream, you have to come back, there are things you must do before you leave."

The femme looked at him tiredly as if really not paying attention with those unfocused and tired optics of hers. "Darkness will rise faster if you leave without neutralizing it! Only you can do it, only you have the power-"

"Pzzzz..." Starscream hissed in annoyance. Now she was not in the mood of hearing his sermons of life, light and dark or whatever, not now when she questioned her existence and desired to know if all of this was worthy the risk and pain that she went through since the day she and her twin were created… and even less focused when thinking that maybe she was a joke of Primus who only desired to see a good drama or tragedy happening while he was somewhere up there with his twin Unicron laughing at her and the ones she loved while the two sat and drink their fine energon made by her bitter tears of utter pain and sorrow.

"Maybe you don't believe me, but is the truth. Only you have the power that is needed to-

She never get to hear him all...

...

* * *

With a mighty scream, Starscream honoured her name and awoke in the med-bay while Hook removed the device from her chamber quickly. Some glass elements in the medbay shattered at the high screech that somehow by a miracle was unable to do the same to the glass of their optics; however this ones rattled as if threatening to do so for a while.

White, blinding white surrounded her vision and an immense, intense and overwhelming feeling of pain invaded her whole body as if it came right from her spark… it was as if the angel of death was angry at her from escaping his encasing and sharp claws, even more after he showed her how good was he, how good he made her feel in every sense. However, it took her a few seconds to realize that screaming in agony only make it worse.

How mean, bad and ungrateful she was for showing the sweet and gentle angel that she could still escape….and escaping nonetheless after all his proofs of affection…. Alright, even she questioned herself for those last thoughts. but still, the pain was still there! How can someone in a pain like that think otherwise?

"Thanks Primus, child!" Hook beamed watching her shake violently and endure her pain as the colors returned to her body slowly… something that didn't seemed to be a good and pleasing experience for her.

The former decepticon CMO ignored everyone and everyone's looks as he searched around the autobot med-bay for what he needed as fast as he could, he needed to do something to calm her pain or her spark will stress again and this time he was not sure he could save her again.

"There, there... It will be over soon...shh..." He tried to reassure her as he inserted some needles in her protoform after removing some pieces of her armour in her arms.

The current that those little needles were charged upon, soothed her pain a little...but it was something against nothing. Hook, he always knew what to do to help her with the utmost care and love. He was the closest thing to a sire she got within the Decepticons and got her admiration and love like few had.

As he was to remove the rest of her armour, he noticed his audience. That made him frown.

"What the frag are you doing standing there like dumbs?! Get out! Everybody OUT!" He barked with rage and grabbed a nice and big wrench that he found on a nearby table and waved it menacingly making the other autobot medics run as the gesture was way too familiar for them and knew the consequences of receiving a hit or a blow with it, especially from a medic who knew where it hurt the most. Only he remained with Scrapper and Ultra Magnus as the others ran for their lives.

"Haven't you understand I meant _everyone_?! Get _out!_ " He roared at the two of them waving the same wrench. Scrapper obeyed and hurried out, he knew he shouldn't push his brother when in a state like this, in his very common state of overprotectiveness of Starscream which oftenly made him and his brothers wonder if he was her creator... But even still after such menacingly threat Magnus stayed, planted like an old tree right where he was.

"Out!" Hook threatened the much bigger mech who seemed like not amused and arrogantly crossed his arms over his chest not moving. "What is your problem? You want to make yourself the super macho?! Get out! There's nothing you can do in here and nothing you must see!"

Ultra Magnus looked down at him feeling his threatening aura and frowned. "She's mine, I can remain here as I please." He answered with just the same arrogant voice and his aura said just the same.

Wrong choice of words...

...

* * *

Optimus and Ratchet whirled around when heard things breaking and a constant deaf sound of beating.

They were watching the stasis pods as Prime decided if online the two seekers or not.

"Optimus... If we're not doing this today, I will return to my place... Primus knows I have better things to do." That said and the CMO impatiently walked out leaving his Prime alone to decide. But, a few seconds later he could hear a loud:

"WHAT THE FRAG HAPPENED HERE!"

That was definitely Ratchet. Who knows what happened, but he knew that his friend will keep everything under control as he considered onlining this two mechs.

...

* * *

Ratchet was half surprised, half enraged at the sight that greeted him with his optics.

There, on the floor lay Ultra Magnus' beaten and bleeding frame... It was like he himself alone faced the unmaker!

"Who did this in my medbay?!" He demanded and all his assistants covered behind berths or their own arms like frightened petrorabits under the rage of a ferocious beast.

Seconds later before any of them could answer, Perceptor came out of the curtain where Starscream lay for months and said as politely as he could; "Ratchet, please quiet." and once his message was given he returned inside.

Ratchet's left optic twitched and he stormed towards that place and angrily crossed the curtains moving them roughly out of his way.

His anger vanished immediately at the new sight before his optics about what the curtains revealed.

...

* * *

 **Later**...

As Ultra Magnus was repaired by one of the resident medics, he couldn't stop thinking about her and the words she shared with him...

"... _I had my own spy drones_..."

Remembering the seeker's words, his optics widened and tried to stand to reach her, but First Aid stopped him.

"Please, sir, stay still, I'm not finished yet and you can get even worse. I know you want to see her, but just wait, she'll go nowhere." The young Protectorbot said calmly and the other calmed as well... he was right after all.

"Please hurry... Is-"

"Important, I know, but your health is more important."

He remained quiet leaving First Aid do his job; but he wished he could hurry….and Starscream to recover… Magnus just discovered a way of contacting with Cybertron…

...but only if she lived enough to tell them how.

...


	30. Twenty-six

**Twenty-six**

Starscream felt lax and tired and sometimes it was hard to breathe as well, to breath life and consciousness as the same gentle and kind angel of death tried to pull her back...or was it perhaps the dream fairy?

' _Why am I thinking of human deities?_ ' The seeker thought without knowing as well.

Everything she knew was that she didn't know as for some reason it didn't matter, it was easier to just let go. Besides, as she was now laying on a cold medical berth, armorless and naked with thousands of little needles pinching her proto-flesh it would be so much easier if one of those two specters took her away to forget everything...however, even that was hard since somehow the blissful unconsciousness seemed to be a long unreachable release.

' _Maybe its because of the needles_...' She thought; yeah, the needles, Hook's arduous and hard work to keep her in the world of the living ones...now she couldn't be selfish and just die after everything he's done, right?

She would never forgive herself.

Time passed, it was hours actually since the moment Hook came and told her that the Prime would awake her cousins, but she couldn't be more impatient for seeing them; and the worst was that Perceptor was no company at all to make the time to go faster...

...for the only thing the red microscope was good at was...

"I need to speak with her, this is urgent, Perceptor!" a mech behind the curtains demanded...a voice she knew way too well.

"No, orders are that she needs absolute rest," The scientist answered.

And there it was...the only good thing the microscope was worthy at was to keep Magnus out.

"Tsk!" She scowled the best she could with the needles in her face. She didn't wanted to see him either.

"She knows something she hasn't told us! I must interrogate her!"

By the sounds coming from the other side of the curtain it seemed that the bigger, blue mech had tried to get past Perceptor, but the other blocked him again. "I told you, she's not available to answer any questions, Prime's orders."

"Didn't he say she's mine? I can do with her as I please, now, get out of my way, I have more important business to attend!"

"Don't you dare, Magnus!" A new voice boomed. "If Perceptor can't stop you, I will."

"What are you going to do; shoot me with that and then explode? Come on, stop making me waste my time!" With a huff of tiredness, Magnus said and turned again towards her curtains...

...She gulped...

Starscream wasn't ready yet for him to see her naked! And possibly never will be! ' _Someone stop him!_ ' Her mind begged, yelling in a silent scream..

Suddenly a buzzing sound was heard and next second, someone fell to the ground unconscious.

"Swoop, First Aid, get him away from here!" Wheeljack ordered harshly as if really annoyed before directing himself towards Perceptor. "I will look after her, Percy, take a rest." His voice suddenly changing and becoming softer as he addressed the other.

"Good, I was in need of one, thank you Wheeljack, let me know when you tire of her," Perceptor said without objecting before leaving making Wheeljack nod.

"I will, Percy, thank you." And with that passed a few seconds before the engineer crossed the curtains and watched a very displeased Starscream looking back at him.

"Oh, don't worry about me," He pointed and she frowned...barely. "I am a scientist, a medic and an engineer... I make no judgement with your situation, besides I've seen more from you since it was I who fixed your entire...ahem...system down there."

Once again Starscream gave him a look of utter disgust...as best as she could or as best as the needles on her face allowed her to.

"I apologize if I offended you, that was not my intention to but instead to offer you health and a better quality of life," He stated before adding. "How are you feeling by the way?"

"Hmmm..." Was everything the seeker could offer as an answer plus her already offended and annoyed gaze.

"Well, I will take that as ' _like slag_ ' and will gladly inform you that your trinemates are now out from forced stasis and both Ratchet and Hook are now fixing them before they can awake and face you. I hope the waiting is not too long and annoying for you and by then you will have fully recovered to face them." The mech said with a kind smile plastered on his optics that made her doubt his intentions towards her.

"Oh! I've forgotten it! What a fool I am...well, look what I got here!" He excitedly presented her a lavender datapad which was a very familiar object for her...her diary right in front of her optics and once again being held by another being that wasn't her!...and she couldn't move to snatch it back from his hands!

How could she have been such a stupid fool to forget it back at the lab?!

"I've only read the piece with the recipe to..." He reached closer and whispered in her audio, "...Help you with your revenge." and once he'd said that, he rose up again and blinked an optic to her.

Stascream looked shocked and confused.

"That's all I've read from it since I wanted to help you, nothing else... I never dare to read private property without the permission of the owner...well I actually did...but it was to help you and nothing else, besides, it will be fun to see it work, right?" He finished leaving her blinking in confusion.

"Have you tried this with anyone? It's an amazing idea!" He now said excitedly.

Starscream thought it was odd to see the masked engineer excited about something else that didn't involve explosions or other kinds of destruction of the public or private property, also, why was he helping her? What were his ulterior motives?

"Hello~?" A hand waved in front of her face bringing her back into their conversation. "Will you answer me?" He said and an annoyed grunt answered him. "Good, have you tried this before with someone?"

"Hm..." She answered once again and he nodded. "Good, may I ask who the subject was?" He said and she did her best to move her head in a 'no' like gesture. "Oh...okay...well, if you ever want to talk about it, here I am...oh! And by the way... I will give this to Hook, so, don't worry about it." The engineer assured her and she suddenly felt for once after hours of never sleeping, her consciousness started fading and finally pulling her into the dream realm.

"Sleep well, Starscream..." Was the last thing she heard as if it was a faraway echo while she drowned in blissful recharge.

...

* * *

When she opened her optics again, Starscream wasn't in the Autobot's medbay anymore.

She couldn't recognize the place and everything seemed so dark and choking, but as she adjusted her optics she could see exacly where she was. It was like a city but an abandoned one.

Winds whispered and whistled around every corner like conversing with each other and claiming the ghost town as theirs only however sharing it with the darkness of the night.

Starscream then started walking around to see if anyone was still alive in there to no use, this town was indeed desert.

But then the sun started rising bathing and re-claiming the city from the darkness as saying that it was its turn to play, and indeed it was as the strong and powerful lights blinded for a second the femme forcing her to turn and run for her life with her optics offline before hitting a strong and ancient pillar hard with her head.

"Owww..." She moaned in discomfort only to discover that the sun has gone again and the town was in darkness one more time, however this time the town wasn't empty...

"What the...?" Starscream gasped watching for the first time mechs and femmes walking around in the streets... But there was something wrong with them, the seeker noticed.

They walked without a destiny and oftenly hit the walls of the houses before turning and continued walking as if nothing happened.

Her optics widened and she gulped trying to calm down before standing again and started walking towards the higher building she could devise.

Suddenly she devised a couple that didn't seemed to be like the first creatures she saw that wandered the streets. There were two mechs and they held something against a bench.

Now she noticed that there was some kind of park with dimmly glowing crystals that gave the ambient an even more eerie ambient than the other streets.

"Please..." Someone cried, pleaded.

"Hush...do not resist, it will hurt you more if you do..."

Now Starscream noticed that there were three mechs that sat on that bench, the third one was a minibot who cried as the other two held him safe and secure so it was imposible for him to escape.

"Please, please don't...!" The weeping mech tried once again to apeal to the other mechs' good judgement...only to fail as both opened their mouths revealing sharp and pointy fangs making their victim scream before one of them covered the minibot's mouth.

"Hush... You don't want to call their attentions, right?" The other mech said pointing at the walking creatures that aimesly continued with their journey. "You can't see them," He noticed the mech's confusion. "But they can see you..." A dark chuckle followed after that statement for part of both mechs as their victim cried in hopeless impotence.

It was then when it hit Starscream, when once again those two showed their fangs to their victim only to incrustate them in his neck and in his right arm, hearing him cry and scream to finally faint a few seconds later as both creatures made themselves with his life fluid.

"Vampires!" Starscream gasped before turning on her heels and run away only to find herself with the same scenes over and over again orchestated by different mechs or femmes. She was horrified and disgusted at the same time.

The seeker could also see a vampire femme with a newborn sparkling in arms walking towards another victim of another four mechs before taking out from her subspace a very much ornamentated with gems blade.

"Let me pass," She almost sung those words and the mechs obeyed. "My sparkling is hungry too." Said that she cut one of the veins of the silently crying mech to fill up a bottle only to walk away once this one was full with the blood of the mech.

Without wasting another second the other mechs that let her pass returned their hungry fangs to their victim ignoring his pleads as they feed from him.

"Here you go, my sweetspark..." The beautiful femme sung each letter before taking the bottle's tip to her creation's hungry mouth.

Starscream almost purgued at the sight; but she noticed something... That all of them were beautiful, all this blood hungry demons were gorgeous to the optic... Until you see what they were capable of.

Suddenly, the air felt tense and all the vampires stopped feeding and all the walking, mindless creatures stopped moving, however they looked up towards one location, the highest building in the area...

...something that resembled a medieval gothic castle.

Starscream turned her gaze towards the inhabitants only to see them staring back with their shiny crimson optics before the walking mindless creatures attacked her all at once.

"NO!" She screamed covering from them only to find herself in another scene seconds later.

Looking around the seeker femme could appreciate she was inside a building; once again the lights were dim and scarce and those creatures wandered around, but at difference of the other walking creatures this ones could transpass the walls.

Screams could be heard from a nearby room and the seeker, as if not having other choice hurried in that direction.

A great hall greeted her with the same dim lights and barely luminiscent crystals in which vampires surrounded three kneeling and chained mechs.

"Good to know we have such prestigious visitors," One of the vampires said. A beautiful, tall and pale mech who wore a red cape on his shoulders and back and a crystal tied with golden wires crown. "We're always so happy of having visitors," He stepped closer and smirked evily. "Especially since they are the Prime, his Lord High Protector and the Vossian Crown Prince heir."

Said that many of the present mechs and femmes snarled and growled showing their pointy and sharp fangs at their 'guests' before the one who had speaken and seemed to be their leader spoke again;

"We cannot let this oportunity pass, can we? No. We cannot let pass the oportunity to greet with the same fervor that they greeted our kin, the same kindness they took by killing, dismantling and melting our mates, brothers, sisters, creations and creators!" He snarled in rage and all the other vampires roared in cheer at their leader's words.

"Well, you turned our mates, brothers, sisters, creations and creators into mindless walkers for your own benefit as well! Without mentioning you fed from them! How couldn't we return the favor?" The kneeling seeker replied silkily before the vampire leader slapped him hard across the face with a clawed hand leaving slashes marks on his once perfect cheek.

"Silence!" He roared. "We never took more than what we need, besides, you mortals are quite fertile and reproduce so fast that soon will be overpopulating our planet... No, we cannot let that happen, can we?"

"Yes you can, you're no one to decide that! Is Primus' choice not yours or anyone of your disgusting blood sucking kin!" The seeker snarled furiously and thrashed at his chains trying to get a piece of the wrong thinking mech without use and further infuriating the vampire more as well.

"Well, today, right in front of your optics I will show you that you must not defy a god, because that is what we are, the _vampires_ , as you call us are gods and _we_ decide who lives and who dies... And now I will show you which one of you will die first..."

Pointing with his finger at the Prime two other mechs hurried and took him from the floor making the seeker and the other mech to thrash against their chains. "No! Prime! Don't!" The other mech yelled before the Prime turned his head towards him and gifted the two a kind and longing look.

"We tried, my friend..." He said that in a way that seemed to be like he was giving away any hope of salvation and that Primus will be taking his spark soon.

Somehow she believed that somewhere she'd met the crying mech but the right file in her processor just couldn't be reached now... Just like the kneeling and now low headed seeker who seemed to be...

...chanting something...

"Prime!" The other mech screamed in a mix of horror, impotence, sorrow as three vampires jumped the unresisting mech and started bitting and tearing him appart as easy as if he was made out of gel.

"No! Stop it! Prime!" He continued yelling and now crying to no use thrashung madly against his bonds before a hard earthquake shook the entire castle stopping the vampires on their assault and only silence followed then, only the Prime's moans and choked cries of pain were heard before a loud thunder made itself heard shaking the earth again and a loud rain followed it closely.

"What is that?" One of the vampire femmes asked before suddenly and without warning she was turned into dust as if a pit hole fire burned her up whole like she was made out of dry paper...then another vampire followed and another and others until they finally reacted and started trying to get away, to escape from the hall to no use.

Their leader was tent on the ground, helpless and unable to move and all the other walking, mindless creatures were being desintegrated just as well as their masters.

Turning around Starscream could see the cause of all this havoc...the once kneeling seeker wasn't kneeling anymore but standing low headed and wings held high as if in deep meditation and threatening of attack as well...it was unnerving and the aura of hate that surrounded him was choking.

The chains of the other kneeling mech vanished suddenly and without wasting a second he ran towards his Prime. "Nova... Prime, sir, please, hold on, we will get out from this, I know!" He said looking for some tools and quickly as he could he sealed all the wounds in his Prime he could see.

"Trion..." The Prime coughed and some energon was spurted out from his mouth as if warning him that even if he didn't wanted to, his life was slipping away from him. "Leave it... I will not...m-make it..." He tried but his Lord High Protector wouldn't give up on him so easily. "Night- what is Nightscream doing?!" He arched in pain growling and bitting hard against his teeth feeling a pain that came right from his spark.

In that momenent the Lord High Protector turned and stared wide opticed the now floating and glowing-gliph-tatooed seeker prince in a state of trance.

Outside the cryings from people could be heard among the thunders and raging storm... The vampires were in trouble and Starscream had a very much clear idea why.

"Trion...s-stop him...you h-have t-to stop him!" The Prime coughed the words out trying to call the attention of the one who was considered his Second in Command who was watching the mech who was supposed to help them totally lose control as his now releasing powers were destroying everything.

Starscream's optics widened at the realization of who this mech was...who actually were this mechs; Nova Prime, Alpha Trion and her sire, Nightscream... And right now the later was... He had just invoked the _Spirit_ for the first time guided from his feelings and lower incstints of murdering!

"Vampires...walkers...you are dead!" Nightscream yelled and the unmoving vampire leader screamed hearing his people in agony and his city being destroyed to the fundations.

Suddenly a bright and blinding light iluminated the room and everything and before she could do anything, Starscream was transported into another scene.

...

* * *

"What is going on with me?!" Nightscream cried in front of a very much older seeker and his subordinates.

The scenario changed as well, they were not at the Vampire city anymore, she didn't even knew it's name, but now they seemed to be in Vos, at the top of a tower she couldn't remember ever seeing before. "How is it that I don't know where this place is..." she frowned looking around. "But the sight seems so familiar to me..."

"You're not normal anymore," The elder answered with a deep, ancient and wise voice she only heard in one of those secret travels to Tibet on Earth. "You're being consumed by the hungry Spirit, it helped you once, now you must pay the price..."

"Grandsire... I feel... I..." Nightscream said as if holding back something that slowly but surely was winning it's way out of his control, slowly crawling with it's sharp claws out of his spark.

"Your spark is suffering because the spirit is taking it piece by piece... It shall pass soon, it won't kill you but it will make you stronger; you have to resist!" Once again the elder spoke and tried to encourage his grandcreation to hold it.

"I... I can't... Please... Help me...!" The mech that once was her sire begged before falling on his knees, head and wings held low, exhausted.

The elder reacted and hurried towards him but not close enough to arms' reach before barking the others. "We're losing him! Hurry! Form a circle around him!"

Everybody hurried next the elder and started chanting...but it was too late...

Starscream watched right in front of her optics how her sire transformed into the beast, the monster she knew and feared, the murderer of her other half, her brother and her worst nightmare.

Nightscream smirked darkly and his colors darkened as well somehow and his teeth became sharp and pointy.

And once like that he made the same he did those vampires, pulverized the priests surrounding him, except the eldest of them all, his grandsire.

The elder tried by all means to control what was out there but the beast inside Nightscream was stronger than he thought and the Prince's spark was not as strong as he thought it would be.

"Now, my dear grandsire," The murderer purred with that loathing and low tone she hated the most. A tone that made her shiver in disgust. "Tell me what I need to know... I'm hungry and I need to know what to do to get rid of it before I destroy your precious city...you know I can do that, right?" he reached for the elder's neck and licked at his audio.

"You are a demon...an aberration...a weak sparked coward, and as such you will feed from the weaker's sparks..." Nightscream heard the other cough some of his blood as his grip tightened against the elder's neck.

"That is all I needed to know _grandsire_..." Once again Nightscream purred darkly before showing his now pointy fangs and incrustate them in the elder's neck. His sharp claws kept his victim in place as he fed from the other's life force...

...but then he released his victim with a loud and agonizing roar. A sharp, silver blade was incrustated in his back right where his spark was located...but never pierced it.

"You shall not have it easy!" Someone behind him started chanting and Starscream could see a femme wearing a white cape. "You will not became a vampire, you will have to work for each meal, you will have to discover by your own your power, your releaf will be sealed and tied by the decision of the Sacred Sword of Primus and you will not be able to do otherwise,"

As the femme chanted the blade in Nightscream's back started moving and with it some strange and complicated glyphs started decorating the once perfectly polished surfice and he turned his head, scarlet, full of hatred optics stared at her before the now stained with blood mouth snarled.

"You're tied, to not hurt, hurt others and hurt yourself, you're tied, to not-!"

The femme continued her chantings, but before she could finish she was laying with her back flat against the floor.

"You know what? I'm growing tired of you all witches, I came here for help, and what do I get? Nothing! So, I guess I will have to take it!" Nightscream growled before bitting her hard on her neck.

"You will get nothing from me!" She said between gritted teeth and he lifted up to see her and smirked.

"It seems like so... Well... I will show you that you're nothing but a pathethic insect for me, witch!" He declared and pinned her arms to the ground before using his knees to get between her legs. The femme tried to resist but he was too strong for her, even when the knife in his back still tried to stop him.

Removing her hood from her face and helm Starscream could watch and stare at her own mother in a precarious situation with her sire. "Let's see how much you can stop me once your power gets divided by your own creations," Her optics widened in horror.

"How...you?" She tried before thrashing madly against his death grip.

"I've learned some things from grandsire...and now, you will pay for that useless little spell you cast on me." He purred before removing his plating and hers revealing their interface equipments. "Let's see if you dare to take what is yours from them!" He laughed madly before thrusting in her without preparation.

And Starscream was witness again of another abuse by _him..._ of how her own sire raped her mother, released his seed in her and forced her to carry ignoring the she thrashed and cried.

"Mom..." Starscream let out barely a broken whisper as her own optics were unable to look away from the macabre scene right in front of her.

"I..." Starscream heard the elder, who was still alive speak with his dim optics directed towards her mother. "give you...my...power... Slipstream..." And with that his optics darkened and his body became grey.

Her mother gasped and her optics brightened...

And once again the scene changed...

...

* * *

...however this time she was at her own tower which was being built as faster as possible, she could even see a young Hook working and smiling at her mother and the thing she had in hands.

"I knew you were not going to get rid of them," Nightscream chuckled darkly. "As they develop your power dimishes. One of this days you won't be able to stop me here anymore and I will be free once again."

"If I can't stop you, they will!" She declared and he made a violent movement but one look of her stopped him; the mech, watching how she defeated him with a growl he walked away.

"We will see..." He murmured before leaving her alone.

Her mother sighed watching him walk away before directing her kind smiling face towards her creations. "I wasn't able to stop him completely... But at least I can stop him from killing everyone in Cybertron and it's colonies..." her creations continued sleeping as if nothing will ever awake them, nothing will disturb their dream. "But I can barely do so; he always leaves to do...and people in Vos is not safe..." She closed her optics and frowned in worry thinking about the situation.

Sighing again she looked down at her sparklings. "You must stop him... You're stronger than him, than me...and you got each other."

Starscream's mother then unsubspaced something that was shockingly familiar for her; the datapad that always followed her no matter what...

"You must not underestimate him, no matter what... I did it and someday will pay it with my life."

The femme then onlined it and started reading...or chanting what was writen in it at her sparklings, old ancient and powerful spells of protection.

...could it be?

The object she thought missing was hidden in plain sight...?

...her lavender datapad...

...her diary!

"This cannot be...no, this cannot be!" Starscream cried. "It can't be possible!" she took a step back.

"It is possible, sweetspark." The femme suddenly spoke at her and Starscream froze.

"You need to pay more attention at the signals," Her mother walking towards her. "Look..." She said pointing at it and it was then when it hit Starscream hard...

"Its...its..." She tried watching an object she thought lost so long ago, that little book Sunstorm used to read with her about...about...

On the cover it read ' _For protection of the loved ones.'_

"N-no..." It was in her power all this time?!

Sometimes she wondered how was it possible that it never got lost and always returned to her?

Well, she was a scientist and never tried any spell that was in there... except that one to protect Hook's medbay and she knew that easily, but the rest was pure science!

"You've been charging it with your pain and sorrow, it shouldn't have happened that way...now is a weapon, a weapon The Other one can use to destroy everything in his lust for revenge and hunger for power." Her mother explained grimmly.

' _The other_?' Starscream thought loudly.

"Yes...it is-" Her mother started but she never get to hear the end of it because of...

...

* * *

...Someone waking her up roughly from her dreams... a pinching pain that literaly kicked her into consciousness again so fast that she doubted she dreamt at all...

...could that even be considered a dream?

A nightmare perhaps...

It was so harsh her awakening that the seeker didn't even put attention at her _naked_ situation with the mech who brought her back from Morpheus' world...and the fact that she was still processing what was going to be said by her mother in the end wasn't helping either.

"You have to tell me, you once told me that you had your own spy drones around Shockwave; we need to check the situation on Cybertron and that might be the only way." Ultra Magnus said urgently making the other medics, First Aid and Swoop around gasp at the sudden revelation.

Starscream however lolled her head to the opposite side of the berth and dimmed her optics.

 _'I don't know what are you talking about._ ' She thought about answering but her mouth didn't responded to do so... Nor even for yelling him because he made her lose her conversation with her mother and she was upset about it.

"Hmmm...!" Was the only sound her vocalizer produced and it was as if the blue mech had read her thoughts.

Magnus' optics widened for a second before frowning again. "You said-!" He started barking at the ill seeker but was interrupted by Hook who yanked him away from her with a rough grabbing of his arm.

"Don't you dare, this is a medbay, not the battlefield!" He hissed and growled watching an unconscious Wheeljack on the floor...

...it was obvious how the scientist engineer ended up there... With Magnus' help of course since the dent on his helmet wasn't there before, of that he was sure.

"I leave her only for a few minutes only to find her being assaulted by you again?! And find your own team mate offline on the floor?!" The former Decepticon CMO barked.

Then Ultra Magnus took him by the neck, "This is important! Do not interupt me!" and hissed darkly.

"If you want anything from her first you will have to wait until she's better and second you must ask nicely!" Hook bit back taking the arm that hold him against his will and tried to pry it off.

"I don't need to be nice with her!" Magnus roared before stopping himself. Then released Hook and turned around giving them all his back so they couldn't see his horrified expression.

He thought about it for a second... He _did_ needed to be nice with her... Then, why was he being so harsh?

Maybe it was because she was Starscream and the things she did in the past were not good ones and she even killed millions of their kin... Even if the gun wasn't shot by her... But still!

This wasn't himself... He needed to cool down... But first, why was he so hostile towards her now? Didn't he decided he will be gentle and polite with the seeker so they will take up on his brother?

So... Why?

Nothing changed between them, they're still in the same situation...

Yes, _they_.

"I need some answers..." He said walking away; but he didn't specify what kind of answers he needed, especially answers about his hostile behaviour towards Starscream, the seeker who was supposed to be his ally.

Meanwhile Starscream felt as if she was in the middle of the old, ancient battle with their long time enemies, but in the back of her processor the conversation with her mother and the dream about her father grow.

Her optics widened in shock at the realization of what it meant.

' _Could it be...?_ ''

"Oh frag! We're in deep slag!" Starscream mumbled as loud as the needles on her face allowed her.

"Yes, now rest, child. The Prime will bring them here, don't worry." Hook reasured watching her squirm.

"Hook!" She tried hoarsely and he brought a device on top of her that released a soft electrical current against the needles and soon she was asleep.

' _No...please... Hook! Wake me up!_ ' She screamed in her mind to no use since her body fully relaxed and was impossible to move it now no matter how conscious her mind was.

"Good, rest well, child..." He said softly watching her relaxed face and smiling kindly like a caring father would with his daughter before turning and walked away.

' _Hook! Somebody, anybody, help me!_ '

...


	31. Chapter twenty-seven

**Chapter 27**

Silence…

Creepy, haunted silence was everything Starscream's receptors received in her half conscious state.

' _Move...come on, open...up!_ ' The unmoving seeker commanded her unresponsive body and closed optics. ' _Frag, Hook, what did you do to me?!_ '

Only her chest moved up and down as she breathed quickly, doing everything she could to pump fuel to her processors or body in order for her orders to be heard and done… and so far it was not working…

The beeping machine that was responsible for monitoring her life was the only one sound she could catch and as it was so repetitive she thought that sometimes it stopped, but of course it didn't.

"Swoop?" She suddenly heard outside her curtains the other medic call for the young winged dinobot.

"Me… Swoop….tired..." The other answered making her frown involuntarily before hearing someone fall on the ground… Was it the dinobot?

"Swoop!" The other screamed and hurried towards the place the falling sound came before gasping and falling next his supposedly unconscious camarade... she supposed.

"N-n….no..." She barely whispered still trying to force her body to move. ' _They are here! They have escaped! They are awake!_ ' Starscream screamed in her mind desperately and panted harder feeling the temperature around her descend.

…

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

**Outside the Ark…**

**Near some forests…**

Ultra Magnus stood facing the quietly talking trees. "What is going on with me? I was always so… careful towards everyone, I was taught to be polite and respectful, even to my enemies!" He hissed in frustration as the answer evaded his processor.

"Why with that seeker I can't…. what is she doing to me?!" He snarled tightening his fists and shook in rage.

He started panting and gasping at the intensity of his feelings and the frustration they gave him at the avoiding solution of his problem, it was just too much; like a hard test he was taking without even taking the full class yet!

Throwing his head back in order to make his growing headache step back he noticed something he hadn't noticed before… the silence that surrounded him. Something was not right.

Turning around quickly he watched the near Ark and couldn't help but notice something, even if he couldn't see it… there was something there… something dark…

"Why do I believe it has something to do with that freaking seeker?" Magnus spoke to himself with gritted teeth before walking towards the base again… yes, walked… then maybe he could clear off some things from his head.

…

* * *

**Autobot med-bay…**

Starscream panted hard as the last of the little needles left her body and she sat finally after her body was kind enough to answer to her commands. Then looked at her surroundings with dimmed optics… then at herself…

"Hmmm..." Was everything her vocalizer produced, but she tried to say ' _Where is my armor? I'm naked! I would hate any mech to see me like this!_ '

Gathering strength she moved her wobbly legs towards the edge of the berth… only to be pulled by them towards the ground and fall on her arms grimacing at the pain and quickly forgetting it as something passed right next to her, close enough for her visual field to catch it.

' _I need to move fast..._ '

Looking around for anything that will cover her, she devised a white, soft and big enough piece of fabric that soon was fastened around her torso. Starscream made a knot to it and stood on wobbly legs before walking away from her curtains.

' _Now, where is that crazy engineer?_ '¨The seeker thought before devising the two fallen young medics she heard before. She gulped and walked with the uttermost care and silence to not alert or call the attention of the creatures that were on top of them feeding from their life.

They were still alive, but now she was too weak to do anything against those things, those shadows.

Soon enough her sight caught the recharging engineer on a medical berth….

...the problem was that two of those indescribable shadowy creatures were on top of him, feeding themselves with his life.

She looked around and wondered why they were not attacking her as well; maybe it was because she was too weak for them to notice her and soon shrugged it off.

Her diary, she was sure it was still within his subspace as he didn't had the opportunity to give it to Hook, but the problem was to take it from him without being attacked by those creatures, whatever they are.

The femme covered up her mouth as she panted in low fuel and her body tried to compensate it by taking air rapidly and walked towards the unconscious masked mech. The creatures looked up at her with their empty but glowy red optics for a second before restarted their task of taking this mech's life force.

' _Now, how do I take it from his subspace?_ ' Starscream wondered and looked around for something that might be of help, for any object; the idea however was quickly dismissed as her lowering energy levels spoke for themselves. There must be another way of getting it out from him!

Minutes later Starscream was walking out from the medbay, or stumbling out from it and watched the dimmed lights of the Ark, and not just that but every mech she stumbled upon was on the ground, unconscious and with one or more of those shadowy figures on them feeding from them.

She just continued walking surprising herself at the fact that none of those things were following her or trying to feed themselves with her. Soon the sunlight embraced her wrapped in cotton body and metallic wings… but just for a few minutes as some thick and black clouds covered the once blue sky.

' _Oh great… now the last thing I need is for those things to leave the Ark and wander alone around causing havoc..._ ' Starscream thought for a second before devising something that was fast approaching her… or rather said, someone.

"Starscream!" He yelled making her frown.

The sky darkened further and she walked faster towards the blue mech she learned to loathe more than ever in the last hours.

"What are you doing here?! How did you left the me-?!" Ultra Magnus tried but she learned against his chest and put her perfectly crafted fingers against his mouth silencing him for a second before he grabbed the little hand and continued. "You mus-!"

But then her other little hand covered his mouth and a desperate/terrifying look this time effectively silenced him.

The seeker gulped and looked around gasping and panting in fear. "Hush!" She hissed. "We're surrounded!"

The blue mech frowned in confusion and she noticed; taking a deep breath she explained. "You cannot see them, but they can see you..."

Her other hand suddenly got free from his grasp and she set both of her hands against his chest, wings flaring possessively before her face changed completely into something more…bestial...

…bright crimson optics, sharp, pointy fangs, all of them combined with her threatening pose and a dangerous growl, she snarled at something, but everything Magnus could see was….nothing; then why was she showing this terrifying face, such creepy face that froze him right in the spot he was standing there, holding her...or was she the one who was holding him?

' _This didn't seemed to be Starscream, the seeker I know….no, no one who's normal can make such an expression or change their face like this, especially for one that looked like….a devil's one!_ ' Were the thoughts that ran by the blue mech's mind as she continued threatening the air.

Starscream can see the creatures and how they were threatening to take Magnus' life; however it was a hard job to threaten them and keep them away from him as she claimed him as hers….and she was getting tired fast.

Suddenly she saw her unarmoured hand… her scars….the glyphs her sire marked her with once, long ago…

...since ever she could read them and today was not an exception….but she never wanted that unholy language to leave past her vocalizers and made sure her skin was always covered by her armour, even her face was with a heavy makeup to cover them making her face skin look darker than it actually was….but then now she felt it was the only way to do something… to keep those creatures from escaping!

The seeker took some air and hissed in that horrible language for the first time ever, " _Don't you dare, go back inside or I will destroy you as the sun will calcinate you from the inside out!_ "

Ultra Magnus started trembling in shock, it was the only thing his body allowed him to do since he was petrified, frozen right there as his systems refused to cooperate, especially now after hearing her speak like this….the words he wouldn't understand, but they were some kind of command, his mind told him, something also told him that this language he just heard was beyond his knowledge or understatement.

She slowly turned her head towards the Ark as if following something, and in what it seemed to be like eternal seconds she finally started pushing him. "Come...on, move," Then gasped trying to take some air. "We….must think….come on… I'll explain you...later...or in the way..."

When Magnus was able to move again he saw her face, the face of the seeker he knew, not that devil's one. He nodded, wrapped an arm around her petite body and walked away with her.

...

* * *

 _ **Sometime later**_...

The couple reached the same forests in where Magnus was hours ago, him, once again holding her against his chassis as she fought with unconsciousness.

"It's getting darker...we must stay here and find a solution to that problem..." She barely whispered and her optics dimmed further.

"You need to refuel," Ultra Magnus said before offering her a cube of energon. "Drink it, or you will fall in forced stasis."

The seeker nodded laying her head against his shoulder in tiredness, it was hard to concentrate and she _did_ needed the fuel. "I will need to drink it slowly...or my tanks will reject it and will make me purgue."

Magnus nodded and asked in a cold tone. "Your tanks are that delicate after sleeping for so long?"

"Yes..." she answered not thinking about his tone taking the first sip, then waited for a moment and took another and so on.

"You must feel well rested after sleeping all this time and do practically nothing." The mech said and now she scowled at him before deciding to ignore him; she won't give him the delight of seeing her upset, not again anyways.

Letting her cube down on the soft grass Starscream then reached inside her makeshift dress for something before lifting up her head to look at Magnus with a frown and say with indignation. "What are you looking at?!"

As he didn't answered but continued staring at her she then took what was inside the fabric, not before directing her hateful optics towards him and mumble the word "Perv!" to him. That only made him lift an optic ridge at her and this time answer:

"Of all femmes, even naked in front of me you will be the last one I will ever think about such things… and honestly, I cannot see you as a femme but as some kind of aberration Primus discarded in this dimension by accident because he forgot to incinerate you in the fires of the Pit before you can escape so far." Was what he cruelly said before realizing it and almost bit his glossa at that.

If he was waiting for an answer, there was none, not even a twitch of her wings as she gave him her back to retrieve whatever she got inside that wrapped sheet around herself.

"What you got in there?" Magnus tried again noticing that she was too quiet. "Starscream?" He said getting towards her and once he was in front of her he noticed she held something against her chest…

...the lavender datapad…

' _Where did she get that again?_ '

The blue mech looked at it warily for a while. "What do you plan on doing with that? Continue with your autobiography?" He asked but the seeker haven't answered and just continued holding _that thing_ with her optics closed as if in some kind of trance. "What are you doing?"

She then onlined her optics just that for a few eternal seconds this ones instead of being crimson red, they were a strange golden like color. Ultra Magnus frowned at the sight not really knowing what to do, after all he knew how dangerous she could be when angry and those odd powers of her, even if they weakened her spark were at her service twenty-four-seven.

Starscream then directed her golden optics towards him before they returned to their original red and looked at him as if considering something. Finally she said, "Come here, Magnus." making him frown.

Of course he didn't obeyed so she went towards him which of course once again surprised him. "What?" He said trying to step away from her.

"It must be read between two," Starscream said sitting next him and put the device on her lap as if preparing to online it.

"I don't want to read your diary!" He said with disgust and not really believing it that she wanted to read it with him or just plain read it.

"Is more than just that, come on, sit here," she pointed to a place on the grass next her. "We don't have much time, the answers on how to get rid of those things are here, I know!"

"Those things?" He quirked an optic ridge at her. "What happened in the Ark?"

"Is a long story, come on, get in here if you want to know!" The seeker hurried him and he, with as much doubts as questions obeyed.

Once he was there with her she removed her left palm from the cover of the diary only to look a little different than the one he remembered; in it's cover it chanted the words: ' _For the protection of the beloved ones'_ if his Vossian was correct… and the funny part was that said script was not there before when he'd took it, clean it or read it!

Ultra Magnus held his glossa to ask anything feeling as it was not the right moment as she onlined it and changed the pages. As far as he could catch everything was in some kind of strange and complicated vossian that he couldn't quite decipher so fast as she changed the pages, but then, minutes later she reached one and said something that worried him.

"Oh no..."

…

* * *

**Later…**

Ultra Magnus was the one walking back towards the Ark with Starscream in arms also wondering himself how was it possible that no human was near.

"So, let me understand this again, we're under some kind of _dark_ attack and we don't have the weapon to destroy it, am I correct?" He said trying to keep his coldness so far and to not think why he had to take her up again!.

"Remember that Soundwave killed almost everybody inside the Nemesis as you and your team mates came to Hook's rescue?" Starscream started and he just grunted; they had no proofs of that. "Well, the ones who were not killed by that creature and were killed by Soundwave are the ones that are attacking your base and friends.

"Vampires are capable of transforming their victims into walking dead and I don't have an idea how they do that just that this walkers are invisible somehow for the average optic." the seeker continued. "So far I had not believed it when my uncle told me about them and since there were no walkers in a long while I had no opportunity to study them….actually, I don't think anyone can and I cannot say that if they are still alive and infected or are like some kind of anima walking around looking for revenge."

He looked down at her skeptically saying with his look that a dead mech stayed dead and infected or ill mechs just don't get up and walk around attacking healthy ones.

"What? You asked, don't look at me as if I was crazy, after all, it is me the only one that is able to see in the darkness." She said this with a hint of sadness and venom before continuing with her usual knowing tone. "And to defeat them we need a special weapon…. a weapon I don't have and haven't seen since I was a sparkling."

"What weapon?" Magnus asked watching her indecision in answering for a moment, however he decided to not push her.

"One that was in my tower back in Vos..." She finally said coldly.

"Ok, that would explain it, Vos is destroyed, and even if in the hypothetical case it was still 'not destroyed' and functioning we cannot reach it since we cannot even contact Cybertron, it's nearest colonies or any colony actually or plain use the space gate.

So, tell me, what does this weapon do?" He tried asking the first thing in his mind as there were other millions of questions he wanted her to answer.

"It's called Primus' Sword; is an ancient, silver blade that is capable of killing demons; the only solution I've saw in the datapad we read….but as I said, it's been millenias since the last time I've laid optics on it….even less touch it." Starscream answered remembering very well what was that used for the last time she saw it before hiding it in a secret compartment in her indestructible tower, that was something Magnus didn't needed to know, so many details.

"And what it was doing in your tower?" Inquired Magnus.

"It belonged to my carrier," That answer made him frown but let it pass; he could feel her repression to tell any of her story since it will surely bring many painful memories.

Deciding to change the subject, he asked. "How do we get in there with all those things...and defeat them?"

"I will keep them away, somehow they don't dare to attack me...and there is only one way of doing so before night falls, I mean, destroy them." She answered both questions. "By using my power or what's left of it...it is the only way...or all of you will die, some can actually be dead as we talk."

He hadn't liked what he heard. "And you would sacrifice yourself for my people?"

After a few seconds she answered tiredly. "The Prime promised to awake my family... I want them to live and be happy...it is not just for _your_ people."

"That doesn't sounds like the Starscream we all know..." He said trying to keep a neutral tone and she shook her head.

"No one really knew me... I'm a good actress," She smiled bitterly before said smile vanished from her face. "Are we there yet?" the femme asked and he decided to ask something else then.

"How are those _walkers_ created? Like you said, it can be some kind of infection that possibly invades the processor, I say this because we had Ratchet checking every mech we found and those who were not armorless were dead, no spark signal, no nothing, not even energon in their veins, completely dry and it seemed to be drained by two little holes in the principal artery located in the neck."

"I don't know," She answered considering what information he provided. "They were dry, even from oils?" Starscream then asked and his answer was positive. "Then I have no idea how they move, not from a scientific point of view anyways."

"And from another point?" He tried doubting he wanted to know.

"You mean, the spiritual point, the esoteric?" Not doubting it but still asking the seeker said. Once again he nodded with a grunt as if he disliked the idea as well. ' _How odd, having his own brother as something spiritual he still dislikes the idea of speaking about it? Maybe is because he cannot understand fully._ ' She thought before answering.

"Well… maybe, I say 'maybe' because I don't know either, Vampires transfer some kind of energy to their walkers-to-be; I was not trained to be a priest and had no one to teach me bout nothing about the spiritual world, I Am a scientist, remember? And as such I've _tried_ to hide and ignore my talents as it was easier that way since I've lacked my whole life of a guide as well who could tell me how to do things right….and no, this book doesn't counts because I didn't know it was a spell book." Added the seeker after providing all that information once she spotted his look towards her diary.

' _A spell book?_ ' His looks once again asked for him before he could speak. "And, how did you found out just now what it really was and not before you could write your story in it?"

Starscream sighed, "I…. I cannot remember some things from my past, I cannot even remember who gave this book to me, just that it was blank when I've started writing on it after…. my brother died..." She trailed off as if considering something and Magnus decided to not interrupt her as if knowing she was going to continue anyways."It wasn't blank all the time….it was a spell book my brother and I used to read together after our carrier died and we tried to protect each other from sire, but once he was gone….I couldn't read it anymore...I guess….it can only be read by two..." Her look seemed distant as if watching through a looking glass a distant and forgotten past. "I've even forgotten what it was…."

Silence followed as Starscream continued looking into her traumatizing past and Ultra Magnus allowed her as he processed everything she just confessed.

And minutes later they reached the Ark but still Magnus remained a good distance away. Starscream frowned at the energy she received successfully snapping her out from her past; what her optics showed disliked her a lot and made signs for him to let her down; however Ultra Magnus seemed petrified.

"What is going on with you, put me down!" Starscream tried as he seemed like frozen. "What is going on with you? Move!" She demanded but still he seemed unable to move a limb.

Focusing her sight on him she tried to see if he was being attacked by something she hasn't seen before and so far he wasn't, so it could be only one thing...

"Are you afraid?" the seeker practically teased, but the only reaction she got from him was an involuntary shiver before his blue optics meet her red ones.

"Something's wrong...somehow I can feel it." Magnus said and she snorted loudly. "What?!"

"Well... ' _wrong_ ' doesn't even start covering the description of it, huh, you cannot see it but can feel it which means you have an idea of what's in there..." Starscream trailed off looking at him as if again considered something.

"What are you looking at?" feeling her awkward gaze more than seeing it, he asked but she continued gazing him anyways.

"I can show you what you optics cannot see but your body can feel..." was the answer to his question before she continued. "Would you like that?"

Ultra Magnus hesitated; did he really wanted to see whatever twisted thing she can see? How insane and twisted that sounded?

' _But, what if she's not lying?'_ the seed of doubt invaded his mind as one part of him wished to see in order to understand what he needed to fight and the other part that told him it was too risky, traumatizing and dangerous to see things he was not created to see.

"Well?" as she waited for his answer her head lolled to the side before resting against his shoulder again in tiredness. The action caused him to shiver and react before looking down at her offlined optics.

"Are you awake?" he tried and she nodded before questioning him again.

"Have you taken a decision?" tiredly Starscream asked.

"Yes... I want to see..." Magnus' answer caused her to lift her head from his shoulders and look up at him before start.

"I will borrow you my sight, you will see what I can see," warned him Starscream omitting some little pieces like for example that there are things that can only see you if you see them and even touch you or hurt you.

The seeker continued. "As long as I am in your arms you will use my optics to see in the dark... Now," she lifted her petite hand towards his face and his optics. "Offline your optics," Was her command and he seeing no objection, obeyed; she did the same. "Online them." She said seconds later.

When Ultra Magnus onlined them the first thing he saw was Starscream in his arms...but something very much different was covering her whole body... Her scars or tattoos or whatever were glowing! He couldn't believe it!

Then directed his gaze towards the Ark and could not believe what he was seeing…

There was still sunlight, however for the Ark there was only darkness, the skies surrounding it were red and dark, greenish storm clouds started covering it as they slowly expanded towards them; not to mention the creepy shadows that moved almost too close to them for his taste as if threatening him for daring to lay his optics on them.

"Just ignore them and move, your spark is strong, they cannot attack you." Said Starscream and that seemed to help him to move, however he was too frightened to speak, not that he will say that to her.

...

* * *

 **Later**...

Finally the couple entered the autobot base and Magnus tried his best to not just scramble away...

...he couldn't abandon his comrades anyways.

Everything was horrible, dark creatures from hell looked at him threateningly as he walked by the corridors with the glowy seeker in arms.

"Just ignore them, they will not attack you as you're not vulnerable." Starscream repeated in a whisper as they passed near another walker.

"How you know?" Magnus finally found his voice and dared to ask.

"Because your spark is not weak, period, everything you need to believe is that they can't, and so they won't." Answered Starscream with so much decision that he almost believed her.

"Did they ever attacked you even when believing they can't?" He tried to make some conversation as they reached their destiny, besides, he knew about her spark situation.

"Every time they can, my spark is weak so I don't have a natural defense against them...but they don't do it while I'm with someone." Was her answer and he tied another rope together.

"That is why Hook told me to never leave you alone while sleeping...now I see, and that is why you want your cousins, right?" he inquired but she shook her head.

"No, that is not the reason, I do love them and want them to be free, to live their lives...not because I want them to guard my spark as I sleep.

You know, when I was stronger I could ignore them easily while using science to distract me from them, used my job, they continued annoying me anyways but it was nothing compared to now that my spark is weaker." She confessed.

"How can you live like this?" He really couldn't understand her, after being abused, cursed, lost everything and more she continued living, add to the list ' _being hunted by damned shadows_ ' so, how?

"I guess that what I will lose will be even greater if I let myself die, one of those things is my cousin's love... I know that if I die they will hurt badly... I don't want that… they don't deserve to suffer because of me..." answered in a whisper the seeker.

"Then why are you sacrificing for us knowing well that it can kill you and will hurt them?"

"Because... I've told you... I want them to live... _They_ deserve it." Starscream answered before noticing he stopped. "Why did you stop? We need to get to the center where I can channelize my power to its max potential!" in a whisper she let out trying to make him move.

"Wait... I can see... A light?" Magnus started towards said light.

"A light?" She repeated frowning before focusing on it. "Yes... I can feel it too... I guess is your brother... Or the Matrix," Deduced the seeker and he nodded walking towards it before one of those walkers stood in front of him, blocking their path.

He could only stare at the giant former decepticon as this one stared back. It was Astrotrain's body, however his spark long ago traveled back to the Well of Allsparks and that could be seen in his empty optics. It was the first time one of those things stopped them so he could see what they truly were.

Without wasting another second, Starscream lifted her head towards the block before threatening him with the same horrible face she used before when ordering those creatures to stay in the Ark.

Meanwhile Ultra Magnus could only stare at her and how suddenly her golden glowy tattoos turned a bright crimson red just as threatening as her horrible face with her darkened optics however.

The creature moved away and her whole body relaxed before directing herself to him with a hiss. "Move!"

Once he did he say. "Well, that kill the hypothesis that they were infected by something of this world, he seemed pretty much dead to me."

...

* * *

In what it seemed like an eternity, after all the monsters they needed to shoo away they reached what it seemed to be the room that held the source of the light and Magnus opened the door...

...and the blinding light bathed the two of them, however Ultra Magnus somehow didn't seemed to find the need to cover or offline his optics and could see clearly from where that energy came from...

... Optimus...

He could not believe what he was seeing, his brother bathed in some kind of holy light emanating from his chest, the Matrix, Primus himself! It was the first time he ever saw this.

Could Starscream look into the light as well with all that negativity in her processor and so used to the dark as she was?

"Hurry, get in!" a voice hissed so he hurried inside before the door was closed again...but he could not stop gaping his brother.

"Ultra Magnus, glad to see you're ok," The glowing Prime came towards him and patted his shoulder. "And Starscream, good to see you too." he cordially addressed the seeker.

"Even when naked?" She bit back but the Prime decided to not answer that.

"Brother, are you alright?" Optimus started but then Starscream interrupted him.

"Get me to Hook, please..." at least she tried to be educated and somehow Magnus obeyed leaving his brother with his word in his mouth.

"Child!" Hook exclaimed taking her in his arms and not a second later, as he blinked Magnus' sight was gone...or was it Starscream's sight in his optics?

There was no more that calming light or any creepy shadow crawling around.

"Brother?" Optimus tried again regaining his full attention this time. "Are you ok?"

"Yes...why?"

"Why were your optics red a few moments ago?" asked a worried Optimus making Magnus to consider some things. So he told his brother why.

After a few seconds that Magnus' story ended Optimus considered something. "So...she was using science to ignore it in the past but now she's unable to...how sad...that means she's in contact with her powers more than ever now... I cannot let her die still, there must be another way of getting rid of those creatures without that so called 'sword' ...sword of...Primus...?"

 _'Primus, could it be?_ '' The thought crossed his processor before opening his chest.

"Optimus, what are you doing?" Magnus demanded and all presents could only stare at the Prime taking the ancient relic from his chest and prepare to open it.

"Getting rid of those things once and for all with Primus' help as it was destined." Answered Prime before seconds later the Matrix started opening and shining.

"This is gonna hurt..." Starscream said covering herself further against Hook knowing full well it was useless.

And the Prime invoked Primus' power by opening the Matrix which light invaded the whole base purifying everything like raining water against a dry and very much needed forest.

Every dark walking creature screeched in agony including Starscream who lost consciousness again seconds later...

...her scars glowing as if they were some kind of fresh burning marks.

...

* * *

When she onlined her optics again she could feel herself warm and protected...

...and smiled because her cousins were there with her, as always protecting her dreams.

"Rest, Star, you need to rest."

She cooed softly at the sound of the deep caring voice of Thundercracker and cuddled closer. "How long did I...?"

"Shhh...rest, you heard TC...take it as a vacation..." That was Skywarp who hugged her from behind making her feel loved like never before warming her weakened spark...

...Primus, how much she missed them!

"Don't worry, Star, Hook and Prime filled us up with everything...and even if we don't approve of _Ultra Rare_ as your betrothed, we will always be here for you and will not allow him to hurt you ever again or we will castrate him." Continued the black and purple seeker. "Right, TC?"

"Right." chuckled Thundercracker. "Now rest, we will be here as you recharge and will be here when you awake."

This seemed way too perfect that for a moment she thought it was only a dream, but their warm frames against her told her otherwise.

This was real and for now she can rest in peace.

It didn't took her long to reach a deep sleep in her cousins' loving and protective embrace...

However the door of their room opened and Ultra Magnus entered before frowning at them... It was Magnus' quarters after all. His message was clear: _get out_.

And by ' _get out_ ' he meant ' _you two go away and leave her here where she belongs now._ '

…

* * *

Later when Starscream's systems started powering up again hours ago against her will, she felt cold and _alone_.

Without onlining her optics she moved towards the only source of heat she could feel near without caring who it was, Skywarp or Thundercracker and soon she rolled towards his side and cuddled next him rejoicing with the only warm frame on that huge and cold berth.

Her breathing then deepened again and she returned to Morpheus' world happily.

However there was only one problem with that warm frame….

...it didn't belonged to any of her beloved cousins…

...and Ultra Magnus started powering up feeling someone's odd and unwanted hug...

...


	32. Twenty eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here is the revenge I've promised...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro, the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: many... 
> 
> Writen by me and betaed by the lovely Cartoon_Dragon

**Chapter 28**

Something warm rested against him as he recharged. Ultra Magnus suppressed an irritated grunt; he was very sensitive, which made it impossible for him to go into a deep sleep unless it was completely dark and everything was utterly silent.

 _'Looks like I have to add "and no one touching me" to the list…'_ he thought dismally.

The blue mech slowly powered up his systems, trying to find out what or who was touching him this late in the night before he on-lined his optics. He was met with a surprise as his blue optics powered on and saw the seeker femme lying against his chassis, a peaceful expression on her face as she recharged.

His right optic twitched in annoyance. ' _How dare she?!'_ he thought angrily, about to kick her as far across the berth as he could, hoping that he'd send her flying so her wings could be useful.

Before he could cruelly shove her away, she cuddled further against him, completely unaware of what she was doing. However, that's not what stopped him from carrying out his action.

…Her face…Her expression was one of utter peace and harmony. It completely lacked her usual scowls, smirks, and frowns. Quite simply put it was so…so…cute?

…No…Beautiful was a more accurate term.

Ultra's optics widened at the thought. He never thought he'd use the words "Starscream" and "beautiful" in the same sentence tied together. And Magnus disliked that a lot.

Primus! Her helm resting against his chest felt so odd, mainly because it was the first time he'd ever slept with someone. Be it mech or femme, no matter how many lovers he'd taken in the past, none of them had the opportunity to sleep in his berth, let alone cuddle against him!

No one!

However, as strange as it felt…it wasn't unpleasant…

Starscream's quivering wings distracted Ultra from his thoughts, her once peaceful expression morphing into one of disturbance. It appeared her wings needed to be warmed too… Or that she was so used to sleeping with her cousins that she found recharging without them uncomfortable. Ultra had seen them earlier, one seeker covering her front and the other her back; the only purpose of the position was to make the her feel safe.

Magnus raised an optic ridge. It appeared her trine was only there to cater to Starscream's whims at times.

Sighing, he moved one servo and guided it towards a wing, caressing it softly in an attempt to warm her up a bit. He hoped he wasn't doing anything that could be considered perverted in her culture; he'd read that fliers had their own way of communication through certain touches to their wings.

Starscream sighed, cooing softly before her expression softened into the happy, peaceful one she'd had moments ago…and Magnus could only stare at her, awed.

For the first time in his life, he couldn't stop his processor from thinking:

 _'She really is beautiful…'_ His optics widened again, but quickly returned to normal. ' _Thank Primus no one will ever hear me say that aloud.'_

Minutes of unquenchable insomnia later, Starscream started moving again, and to Ultra's utter horror, she moved to lay right on top of him!

Her peacefully sleeping face rested against his neck, venting over his sensitive nerves and nuzzling him, and her chest pressed against his spark, enjoying the warmth it provided.

However, that wasn't the problem. Ultra felt his body beginning to heat up in reaction to Starscream pressing hers against him. He trembled, the femme seeker causing him to react in ways he fully remembered, but didn't want to experience—at least not with the one lying on top of him at the moment.

Her pelvis touched his, and that was all it took.

Ultra Magnus felt horror lace up his veins as his body betrayed him and liberated his, somehow very much hot and hard spike. ' _Primuuusss, nooo…what are you doing!?'_

Starscream started to move again, this time downwards, so that she could rest her head against the large mech's spark, and to his greater horror, she found the obstruction that was his spike as her codpiece moved towards it… At least her face was resting comfortably on his chest instead of nuzzling him…

…Speaking of comfort, that wasn't a word Magnus was currently feeling as Starscream's most intimate parts tentatively moved closer to his own.

He gulped. ' _What, in Primus' name, did I get myself into?!'_ he asked himself, begging any deity that would listen to save him from his current predicament.

The femme started moving her hips, rolling them against Ultra's. The hot rod blocking her way downwards by settling between her legs quickly became an annoyance, both for her and the owner of said obstruction. Ultra reached for her hips with both hands, grabbing her in an attempt to still her movements. "Please…stop…" he whispered hoarsely. Starscream's only response was to moan softly in discomfort.

It was then that another thought crossed his mind—this one far worse than the first.

' _What if I let her continue? She'll never know what happened.'_ He quickly shook the thought off. He _was not_ the type of mech that took advantage of a sleeping mech or femme…No matter how good it felt.

His processor became cloudy and he released her hips so she could continue moving against his spike and began caressing her perfectly crafted aft before reaching down to her interface panel.

His common sense slowly vanished and he voice in the back of his mind, the one that told him this was an extremely bad idea, seemed nothing more than a far away echo.

 _'It feels so good…she'll never know…'_ Another voice stated enticingly, his servo continuing to stroke her rapidly heating panel while he debated with himself. He continued his gentle stroking until, to his surprise and delight, it opened with a soft click.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, he caressed the soft rim of her sweet, delicate entrance; he hummed softly to himself when he felt her starting to get wet. The seekeress mewled in want as he wiggled his finger inside her, gasping in surprise when he breached her port and then moaning softly seconds later.

The vocalizations of pleasure did little to awaken Magnus from his hazy trance. Faster than thought possible in his careful attempts not to wake the recharging femme, he rolled them over so that she was now beneath him, her legs spread open so that he could settle comfortably between them. Her port was practically dripping lubricants and her head was thrown back, exposing her neck submissively to Ultra Magnus. Incredibly, Starscream was still in deep recharge, despite the extreme pleasure and heat she felt—all caused by the large mech hovering above her.

Ultra Magnus, for a moment, could not believe what he was about to do. He was going to take Starscream, and all while she slept!

And what a beautiful sight she was, lost in the throes of pleasure.

Her wanting moans and gasps were like a hypnotizing music to his audios. His spike twitched, wishing for some much needed attention as it continued to harden.

 _'She will never know…'_ he thought once more before lowering his head to her neck and placing sucking kisses and licks to the cabling, causing the dreaming femme beneath him to gasp out and moan at his ministrations.

He pushed his finger past the first knuckle into Starscream's port and was surprised to discover how… _tight_ she was.

His higher functions finally took over again as the Magnus moved away from Starscream's neck and looked down at her, disbelief clear in his optics.

' _Has she ever…done this?'_ The question seemed to echo in his mind accusingly, helping to fully snap him back into reality.

She must've never been with another mech since her sire….Which, in the Magnus' mind, made her more or less a virgin.

Reluctantly, he removed his finger from her port and moved away from her, putting space between their heated bodies. ' _I can't do this…'_ he finally decided.

"I'm so sorry," the Magnus whispered hoarsely before using his remaining will power to leave the berth and the recharging seekeress.

 _'If it's going to be like her first time, then she must be awake to give me her consensus. I want her awake and completely aware if she does allow me to share that experience with her,'_ he thought, trying to ignore his spike—which practically thought for itself at times. He sighed. While he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to frag her while Starscream slept, it would be useless to try recharging know with his current…problem.

Not with a panting beauty sprawled out bared on his berth anyway.

He sighed and slowly moved toward his private wash-racks to solve his current deilima, thinking he was far too horny, even if there was a beautiful seekeress currently sleeping on his berth. He was pretty sure his brother hadn't tampered with his energon ration again, so that left that option out as the source of his problem.

So that left one question.

What in the Pit was happening to him?

**XXX**

* * *

Later, after he'd finished cleaning up and…"solving" his little problem, he returned to his berth chambers to find Starscream still sleeping, but now in the fetal position with—Thank Primus—her interface panel where it belonged.

However, now she was shaking and tears were leaking from her off-lined optics. She was mostly likely having a nightmare—which only served to make Magnus feel guilty after what he'd nearly done to her. So, not caring what time it was, he called her cousins. They were the only ones that would be able to help her now.

He didn't think he'd be able to touch her again. Not without trying to ravage her again—and this time he didn't know if he'd be able to stop himself.

**XXX**

* * *

"You don't look so good," Thundercracker stated when he and Skywarp arrived at Magnus' quarters.

The mech only scowled and barked back, "Considering your cousin started _cuddling_ me while I was trying to recharge, I sincerely doubt it!"

"Yeah, she does that a lot when she's recharging," Skywarp stated with a dismissive shrug, which only served to deepen Ultra's frown and put him in a, if possible, fouler mood.

"I've got better things to do than to deal with this nonsense," the Autobot declared, fuming as he practically stomped out of the room.

"Hmph, touchy!" the purple Seeker remarked, glaring at the door Magnus had just departed through. He sighed before turning his gaze to his brother, whom was looking at Starscream sadly. The blue Seeker walked to the berth and knelt down in order to hug her as she continued to dream and quietly sob.

"Shh…it's okay, Star…hush, don't cry…we're here, we love you." Thundercracker recited those same words to his sleeping cousin over and over as she continued to cry.

A sympathetic gleam in his optics, Skywarp followed his brother's example and settled on Starscream's other side so he could hold her while Thundercracker continued his gentle whisperings. However, a strange odor came to his olfactory sensors and he lifted his head, sniffing at the air.

"TC," he began, getting the blue flyer's attention. "Do you smell that?" he asked.

Thundercracker arched an optic ridge, confused by the strange question, but he smelled the air nonetheless and soon found the scent his brother was talking about. Both seekers were surprised to realize that the strange scent was coming from Starscream. Taking in another deep inhalation, Thundercracker felt his optics widen as he realized what the smell was and why it was coming from his cousin.

It couldn't be…It just couldn't!

Starscream's sire had made damn sure those systems were destroyed when he raped her as an infant. However, the smell said otherwise.

Starscream had just gone into heat.

"Oh…Oh, Star," Skywarp said in a pitying tone, hugging her more tightly to his chest as Thundercracker wound his arms around her as well.

**XXX**

* * *

Skywarp and Thundercracker were stretching their wings in the nearby forests, leaving Starscream—who was feeling tired—to rest under a tree with their Autobot bodyguards. While they weren't enslaved, they couldn't fly very far or high; but they did take full advantage of the freedoms they were allowed. Sitting under the cool shadow of the large oak tree she sat beneath, Starscream smiled to herself when she heard her cousins _zoom_ over the tree tops, causing the foliage to flow with the sudden gust of wind.

From time to time the two male Seekers flew over Starscream to keep an optic on her and to make sure their guards didn't try to take advantage of her. It was bound to happen eventually, given her condition, and they would be ready to defend her when the time came for it.

Starscream sighed, her optics locked on a group of small, pebble like rocks. Primus she was so bored—she wanted to do something, _anything_ to be of some use.

A thought struck her, causing her to hum silently to herself. Picking up the rocks, she began to carefully stack them, one on top of the other, and then held them in place with her index finger as she began muttering to herself. "If my calculations are correct, then with the right of energy sent to the hand and then making it twist or twirl at eighty percent strength and using the light of the sun, plus the wind…setting my hand on the object I wish to manipulate will transfer the energy to it and allow my processor to…"

The femme continued her musings, which made absolutely no sense to her guards Sunstreaker and Sideswipe; both of whom only stared at her, frowns on each of their faces as she concluded, "...Then it must work in moving them."

To the utter shock and amazement of the twins, the rocks began to move—without Starscream touching them. She smiled proudly at her newest discover and moved her fingers just slightly so that the stones would turn over each other like fans. The way she moved her hands as she manipulated the rocks could be compared to how a puppeteer would control his instruments.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe continued to stare at her, disbelief clear on their open mouthed faces. They were knocked out of their stupor, when Starscream pulled something golden, and extremely familiar from her subspace in order to twirl it up and down her fingers.

"You have it?!" Sunstreaker asked in a hostile manner.

"Give it back," Sideswipe barked. "It's ours!"

Starscream returned the golden medallion to her subspace and looked up from the rocks to look at the twins. She was surprised to see that both seemed quite upset, however, this did little to soothe her irritation at more or less being called a thief.

"I have nothing that belongs to either of you," she stated dismissively, continuing to manipulate the stones hovering in her hand while keeping her optics locked on Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Neither twin liked how she was looking at them. It was almost as if she was analyzing them, like she had the rocks.

"The medallion," Sideswipe hissed angrily. "Give it back!"

Starscream quickly lost her concentration, causing the rocks to fall back to the ground as the twins both took a threatening step towards her. Undeterred, she stood up from her resting place. Her optics hardened before she raised her hand towards them, causing both linebackers to flinch back and unsheathe their weapons, knowing full well what she planned to do with them.

"Back off dirt-kissers!" Skywarp shouted, he and Thundercracker landing between their cousin and the terror twins, both ready to defend her from her would-be attackers. Despite the safe barrier between her and the twins, Starscream continued to stare up them, her optics furrowed in concentration.

"The medallion is mine," she stated bluntly. "You two were barely three days old when I gave it to your carrier. He had just escaped your sire, whom was trying to experiment on you both. I was surprised to learn he hadn't sold it, as I expected him to do. It makes me wonder how he made it to his creator's, when I met him he had so little he couldn't even feed himself, let alone the two of you. I gave him my last cube of energon so you two wouldn't starve. He was quite grateful for my charitable act; it seems his sons did not take after him as far as manners are concerned."

She smirked, a small part of her enjoying the horrified expressions on their faces as she continued, "I wonder… Did your carrier ever tell you who your sire is? And if he did, have you told your Autobot comrades?"

Starscream suppressed a laugh as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe began to visibly shake, the weapons in their hands unsteady as the tremors traveled to their hands. Skywarp and Thundercracker frowned, their defensive stances relaxing so that they could turn and face their cousin as she unsubspaced the golden medallion again… The one with her family seal and crest emblazoned on it!

The two Seekers stared at it with wide optics, knowing exactly what the piece of metal was just before she used her newly discovered abilities to pass it to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.

"Can you even open it, little ones? Or read what it says?"

She snorted when Sunstreaker hesitantly reached for it before quickly snatching it from the air and turning it over in his hand.

"Ask anyone who can read Vossian to translate what's on that medallion, and they will speak my name each and every time."

Both Twins looked at her, horrified by what she'd just revealed. Starscream suppressed a sigh— she had a feeling their carrier had never told them who the medallion had previously belonged to.

"How is your sire, by the way?" she continued acidly. "Did Shockwave give up on trying to find you again, or… is he still searching?"

Those words were enough to cause both yellow and red twin to visibly pale before transforming and bolting as fast as their wheels could carry them, taking the medallion with them. She sighed. She really didn't care that much about the damn thing to go chasing after it. She'd go after it later… if she didn't decide to just let the twins have it first.

Starscream looked up at her cousins when she sensed their approach and only stared at them, deadpan. "Okay, Star," Thundercracker began in his usual serious tone. "Please explain to us what just happened."

**XXX**

* * *

Sometime later, Starscream found herself in the med-bay, her optics locked on the still unconscious form of Skyfire. She sighed, trying to decide whether or not to awake her old friend while thinking about her newly discovered abilities. To many, what she had discovered would be considered paranormal—she scoffed at the idea. It was merely science with a seekeress that knew how to use and manipulate the theories necessary to achieve the outcome she desired.

All that was really required was a recognition of one's own energy that surrounded them and the capability to control their body along with that energy. Nothing like how she gained her… _other_ abilities. She sighed again. At the very least, her newly achieved ability would save her the troubling of getting up to fetch something. Perhaps, if she could experiment with it a bit more, she could even learn to control another's body… As long as they were controllable anyway.

She just needed to study it a bit more. What annoyed her about that was that she would need to mentally keep up with her progress seeing as she lacked a board to write notes on and dared not use her diary if she could avoid it...

...that thing resulted to be as cursed as she was.

"So, are we going to wake the big guy or what?" Skywarp asked, contemplating how big the shuttle mech was. Thundercracker and his purple counterpart knew who the mech was. Starscream told them everything about him and how he and his family had looked after her, educated her… and _loved_ her after she was banished from Vos.

"I don't know," Starscream finally answered, her voice said. "Our family is dead, Cybertron is in ruins… and he slept through it all… It'll be like he woke up to a nightmare. Everything's so much worse from what he remembers… The shock of it all could destroy him."

He would be devastated to know that his family was killed for their knowledge… and it would break her spark to be the one to tell him.

The last remaining of the shuttles' hard work was saved within the acursed diary's memory card, however only she knew that and was really hesitant on even looking back at what was saved in there now.

The three seekers remained silent, each contemplating the situation in their own way.

While the three puzzled over what to do, they did not see Optimus Prime or Prowl watching them.

"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe told me they saw her using some kind of demonic power. Considering the fact that she's still alive and no speaking in tongues, I believe it to be something else," The Tactician informed his leader. "They also said she was saying things that made absolutely no sense to them before moving some rocks without touching them. From what they've described, I believe what she was saying were calculations. I assume she's found a way to move objects without touching them through scientific means."

The Prime nodded his understanding, sensing the fear radiating of his Second In Command like heat. "She has a lot of free time on her hands and nothing to do," He tried to reassure the white mech. "It's only natural that she'd try to distract herself by experimenting. Her experiments just lead her to discovering something very powerful."

Prowl's optics hardened and gained a hateful gleam as he said, "Prime, her new…" _powers_ " can prove to be a danger. What if she chooses to use this new knowledge against us? I saw we remove her processor and leave her as a drone, just to be on the safe side."

Optimus gave Prowl a pointed glare, having an idea as to why the smaller mech _really_ wanted Starscream reduced to such a state. And he was very disappointed in him. If Ultra Magnus wanted the seekeress in his berth instead of the Tactician, it was none of Prowl's business. Honestly, to destroy a life because she had the attentions of a mech he desired.

"She won't turn against us, Prowl," he stated in a calm tone. "Not unless we give her a reason to. Trust me on this."

Prowl shied away from the look of disappointment before his features settled into something that greatly resembled doubt.

However, if his Prime said they could trust Starscream not to attack them, then so be it. No matter how much he distrusted or disliked the femme, he would obey his leader.

**XXX**

* * *

Hours later while Skywarp and Thundercracker were having their bodies looked over—curtosey of Ratchet who wanted to be absolutely sure they were completely healed—Starscream decided to pay Ultra Magnus a visit.

It was easy enough to find his office, and easier still to hack the code so that the door would open. As she entered, she saw him crouched over his data-pad covered desk reading a report. Looks like the Magnus had a lot of work to do. She'd make this quick then.

"Hello," she began getting Ultra's attention. She quickly became annoyed when he lifted his head from his work only to frown at her. "Yes, yes, I know. I hate you too, but in case you've forgotten, you asked me to deliver this to you."

She walked to his desk and placed a small sealed cube with a transparent liquid in it on his desk. Magnus eyed it suspiciously before giving the looking at the femme again.

Rolling her optics she explained, "It's the revenge you wanted me to conjure up for you brother. Don't worry, it won't kill him."

At his still hesitant frown, she continued, "It will teach him a lesson."

"What does it do?" he finally asked.

Starscream smirked and answered, "Let's just say he won't be able to frag or spark up his mate for a while. He'll be as frigid and impotenent as a nutuered turbo-fox, don't worry—it's only temporary. Just invite him up and give him a cube of energon with this in it."

Still suspicious of the concoction, Ultra took the small cube in his hand and examined it. "Have you ever tried this on anyone else before?"

The seekeress smirk widened as she said, "Yes, several times in fact. I might not be a medic, but I know how the Cybertronian body works—be it mech or femme. However, if you want a reference… Have you ever wondered why Megatron seemed so upset all the time?" At the mech's dumbfounded look, Starscream chuckled evilly then turned and walked out the door without another word.

**XXX**

* * *

Much later that night, Ultra returned to his quarters only to find his femme seeker sleeping. She was curled in a ball surrounded on either side by her cousins, both of whom held her protectively. In a way they kind of reminded him of a shield.

He sighed. He didn't really want to bother them just get his berth back. Besides, even if he did convince the blue and purple seekers to beat it, there was still Starscream to consider; and he'd rather not have a repeat of this morning. Though the thought of that beautiful body curled against his and moving in ways that made him feel so good was not an unpleasant one.

 _'No!'_ he shook his head stubbornly. He did not want Starscream in that way. He didn't want _Starscream_ period! Sitting on his couch, he made himself comfortable and fell into recharge. The last thing he saw was the object of his desire— whether he wanted to admit or not.

**XXX**

* * *

Morning came far too soon as far as Ultra Magnus was concerned. He groaned, his limbs feeling stiff and sore as he chrono woke him against his will. He repressed a sigh—time to start another day. He on-lined his optics and was met with the sight of three seekers still sleeping on his berth peacefully. Primus, how he envied them at the moment.

This time allowing a sigh to pass, he lifted himself off his berth heavily and went to go to the wash-racks. After a quick wash he left his quarters, making sure not to look at the three individuals on his berth. As soon as his ped stepped outside his quarters his com. link went off. Apparently he was needed in the conference room as soon as possible.

He raised an optic ridge, wondering what could be so urgent this early in the morning?

Not wanting to be the one to hold the meeting up, Magnus hurried to the conference room. Once he entered he was met with the shock of his life.

"Optimus?" he gasped upon seeing his elder brother, not believing what his optics were seeing.

"Sit down, brother," the Prime's soft and melodious voice stated, trying to ignore how Ultra's mouth continued to hang open. Ultra felt his tanks twist into knots as he slowly closed his mouth and then looked at the other occupants of the room.

"What happened?!" he demanded, shocked beyond words at the sight of Prowl, First Aid, Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Red Alert, and Bumblebee—all in the same condition as his brother. The other mechs present—Wheeljack, Ratchet, Perceptor, Ironhide—and the femmes—Elita One and Chromia—were normal. Everyone else however, had been transformed into _femmes_!

"Please, take a seat Ultra," the now femme commander repeated. Magnus did as his… _sister_ asked, his optics still scanning over the transformed mechs and wondering what in the Pit had caused this.

"It's quite obvious we have a situation here," Optimus began, his/her tone now light, harmonic, and melodious danced in the silent air.

"We've already been scanned by Ratchet and Wheeljack—neither has found anything to explain what has happened to us… It's almost as if Primus decided to transform the energy of our sparks as well as our bodies…I don't…I…"

Seeing her mate's hesitation, Elita reached across the table and gently took Optimus' hand in hers in order to give it a gentle squeeze, a small gesture of support.

"That doesn't explain why you are all femmes!" Magnus exclaimed, still not believing what he was seeing.

How in the Pit did this happen?! Just the other day Optimus was normal when he came to Ultra's room for a… cube of energon… which was spiked with the poison a certain treacherous seekeress gave him… Oh Primus…

' _That little…GAHH—I'm going to have a word with Starscream later about this…_ ' Magnus hissed within his mind before speaking to his brother again. It was agreed that there would be an announcement about the affected mechs and their… condition. It was also agreed that all the newly created femmes that were not currently bonded would need to find a mate so that they might spark.

Optimus, however, wasn't sure if he… _she_ would need to add another in his bond with Elita…

A mech.

**XXX**

* * *

Shortly after the announcement, and she'd seen what had happened for herself, Starscream made her way directly to the med-bay. Where she knew for a fact Wheeljack was looking over her still resting shuttle brother. She was not disappointed as she practically rammed through the doors and glared at the inventor, who only stared at her in confusion as she grabbed his arm and dragged him into his private office.

"Why do I have the sinking suspicion that you're the cause of this?" she hissed at the mech, causing his helm fins to light up.

"I have no idea what you mean, Starscream," he stated, truly not understanding what she meant or why she was so angry at him.

"The poison!" she stated bluntly, trying to refrain from shouting. "What did you do to it? Did you change anything? Did you add anything?"

There was no other explanation; Starscream refused to believe that Ultra's brother turning into a femme the day after she gave Magnus her poison was just coincidence.

"Oh yeah," Wheeljack began, his fins changing to a calmer blue color as he remembered. "I did add a few things. But it couldn't have caused Optimus and the others suddenly changing into femmes."

"Why did you have to add anything? It was fine the way it was," Starscream stated with an annoyed sigh and covering her optics with one hand. She really should've known better than to have trusted Wheeljack with such a delicate formula, given his track record. "And just how many mechs did you give it to?" she added as an afterthought, wanting to know exactly how much trouble she was in with Magnus for this blunder.

"I just added a few things so that it wouldn't taste so bitter," the inventor explained. "And I gave it to mechs that I believed deserved to be taught a lesson."

"Who exactly?" Starscream was quickly losing her patience with the mech.

He shrugged before answering, "Besides, Prime—Bumblebee, Red Alert, Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, First Aid, and Prowl."

Starscream could only stare at the mech in disbelief. Some of the mechs she could understand giving it to—such as Prowl, since that glitch had been on her case from day one—but others she didn't. Bumblebee, Red Alert, and First Aid? What in Primus' name had they done to make Wheeljack believe they deserved to be sterile—or changed into femmes as the case was. She groaned as she covered her face with her palm. Primus, Ultra was going to kill her.

"I don't understand why you're so worried about," the engineer stated. "Prime's already written the thing off as something in Primus' doing and—"

At the mention of Prime's words, Starscream became livid. "This has nothing to do with divine intervention or any other such nonsense, you dolt! This is science when it's been blundered by an incompetent, explosion prone, sla—!"

"Quiet down before someone comes to see what all the shouting's about," Wheeljack interrupted before Starscream could reach the high point of her rant. "And before you go off on me, consider this: Now each and every one of the mechs affected will understand your situation. Isn't that a good consequence? To have so many high ranking Autobots understand your plight? Now, just calm down, and ignore all of this as divine intervention."

Starscream once again face-palmed herself before releasing a sigh. There was no getting through to Wheeljack right now, she as may as well not waste her breath. However… "I do see your point Wheeljack. All the same, I think it's best that we foget about this before any one of the them puts two and two together and links this to either one of us and demand a cure!"

Wheeljack shrugged again before saying, "Whatever you say. But you have to admit, they all look better as femmes." He chuckled at the annoyed look the femme gave him and she rolled her optics in annoyance.

All of this was just perfect. Now she had to find a way to explain to Magnus why he had a sister now. That would just be the frosting on an energon goodie for this day.

**XXX**

* * *

It was night before Starscream saw Ultra Magnus. She was in his quarters, moving some nearby objects and her medallion with her new abilities. She had retrieved her trinket from the twins later in the day. Actually, they were the ones to return it to her, on the condition that she didn't breathe a word to the Autobots that Shockwave was their sire. She chuckled to herself; the only reason the two had willing returned it to her was because they went to an Autobot they knew spoke Vosian. She frowned as she thought about how strange it was to see them as femmes.

While more lithe and petite than they were as mechs, neither had changed personality wise. Sideswipe was still a prankster, and Sunstreaker was still a vain little glitch.

The door opening suddenly drew Starscream out of her thoughts and caused her to look up. Magnus entered, a look of deep concentration on his features—which was quickly replaced with shock when he saw the levitating objects. He frowned at the femme and held up a hand to keep her from speaking, "I don't want to hear it. I really don't."

"It wasn't my fault," she defended. "I swear, this was the first time this every happened. Wheeljack added extra ingredients to the mix that caused everyone who drank it to turn in to femmes! This is _his_ doing, not mine."

The mech only shook his head and sighed. "I really don't care, Starscream," he said, sitting next to her on the berth. Before the guilt had time to eat away at the seeker's spark, Ultra looked at her and smirked, "I think Optimus got just what he deserved. Primus knows he could use a shock like this."

He chuckled at the surprised look on Starscream's face before he asked, "Where are your cousins? They're usually close by when you're concerned."

Starscream rolled her optics and answered, "Hook asked for them and your sister ordered them to go. Don't know why and the medic refused to tell me. Honestly, Skywarp and Thundercracker are going to tell me what he did and why when they get back; he may as well just tell me."

Magnus nodded and laid on his back before looking up at her. "Can I ask you something, Starscream?"

She gave him a look that told him to continue.

"Remember when I asked you about the experiment Shockwave was doing with energon and the femmes?"

Starscream wrinkled her nose in distaste before nodding. "What about it? No wait, let me guess: You want to know the details, right?" Ultra nodded once. "Ask the femmes, they were his victims afterall."

Magnus shook his head and explained, "They won't tell us anything about it. Elita and Chromia won't even talk to their mates about what happened to them. It's also like they made a pact with one another not to speak of what happened when Shockwave had them."

Starscream snorted, the look of disdain, becoming a scowl and her optics became like blood splattered ice.

"What?" he asked, not understanding why she seemed to be taking the matter so personal.

"If they won't tell you what they suffered at that bastard's hand, doesn't that tell you something? Doesn't that give you a hint at just how horrible the experience was for them? No, you're a mech. You couldn't possibly understand. What happened there was something so evil you couldn't possibly imagine how sickeningly twisted Shockwave's damn processor is."

"Then enlighten me," Ultra pressed. "…Help me understand."

Starscream hesitated, staring at the mech in disbelief. He was probably the first mech, besides her cousin and Skyfire, that seemed to actually want to understand her pain and fear. Did that mean he actually cared?...Or was there something in it for him that she just didn't know about yet?

For a long moment, she was silent. The memories of that day came unbidden to her mind—and she was disturbed by how perfectly she could remember every detail of what happened. Sighing, she finally spoke.

"All I can say is, what he did to them, was so disgusting and horrible it gave me nightmares for _years_ … It's one of the reasons I hate Megatron so much... because he allowed it to happen."

She took a breath to steady herself before continuing, "Megatron sent me to Darkmount to check on a project Shockwave was working on; but I had my own agenda. As I told you before, I had spy drones watching Shockwave for months. Through my drones, I knew he was up to something suspicious, but I never knew what. The creepy bastard was too suspicious for me to get my drones or any drones in close enough to see what he was doing, so I had to go there and see the experiment myself—under the impression that Megatron had ordered me to do so."

****XXX** **

* * *

_**Flashback** …_

_"Shockwave, I've already told you, Lord Megatron has ordered me to check on the project you've been working on in sector omicron-bi. He wants to make sure it's not interfering with you fulfilling his wishes." Starscream stated, crossing her arms as she followed the one-opticed mech through the long, winding hallways of Darkmount._

_Shockwave stopped to look at her, his optic narrowing in anger at her words. "My project isn't a distraction! I have been following Megatron's orders to the letter and have done everything he's asked of me."_

_Starscream nodded. "I don't doubt it, Shockwave. But as you follow your orders, so to must I follow mine. He's sent me here to take a look at your project, and I'm going to one way or another. Now, you can either stop your gripping and just show me what you're doing down there—or you can call Megatron and tell him exactly why you won't let me follow his orders. Which is it going to be?"_

_Shockwave actually trembled at the seeker's words. While he didn't trust the treacherous glitch, he wasn't going to run the gamble of proving her wrong. If he called Megatron and Starscream was telling the truth, he would run the risk of angering the Decepticon Lord because he questioned his wishes and wasted his time with, what he would most likely consider, a frivolous matter._

_The risks far out-weighed the gains, in his opinion._

_"As you wish, Starscream," the guardian of Darkmount stated grudgingly. "Follow me."_

_Starscream suppressed a smirk as she followed the cyclops; she loved it when things went her way. He guided her down a series of paths until they reached an elevator that took them for levels down. After leaving the elevator, Shockwave led her down another, much darker, passage that soon put them in front of a double-door entrance._

_"Here we are," Shockwave began, his voice becoming…lighter as he continued, "And please, seeker, contain your envy once you see my masterpiece."_

_With that said, he pushed the doors open, revealing his hard work._

_Starscream had to execute every ounce of willpower she had not to purge, thought that didn't stop her from filling ill at the sight that greeted her._

_There were a series of machines, each with a femme attached to it—all without their armor and with several tub- like tentacles entering almost every orifice of their body. As horrible as it looked, it became impossibly worse. The tentacles with rounded heads and ribbed were the ones forcefully thrusting into their bare ports, causing the poor creatures to moan and groan as they were given unwanted pleasure._

_"Amazing, isn't it?" Shockwave asked proudly, admiring his work. Starscream suppressed a disgusted tremble as some of the femmes overloaded. As they did so, a nearby machine collected the energy escaping their bodies and transformed it into refined energon. The cyclops chuckled, mistaking the absolute shock on the seeker's face for awe as he said, "Who would've thought a femme would be best suited for such a task? Not even the mechs I used produced this much energon. Then again," Shockwave would've grinned evilly if he could. "None of them survived as long as these femmes."_

_Starscream shook herself out of her stupor and managed to force an admiring smile on her face before saying, "My, my, Shockwave; this would explain why you haven't been whining for energon in a while. Truly, your greatest work."_

_Shockwave actually beamed—such a strange thing to witness, considering the mech didn't have a face or optics to properly express his emotions._

_She could hear the pride in his voice as he continued, "Why thank you, Starscream. Such a comment from you is quite rare. What's more impressive is that these femmes will provide me all the energon I need for another solar cycle at least."_

_Starscream couldn't take her optics off Elita One, whom was crying her optics out as the machine continued to rape her. The Autobot femme commander looked at the seeker pleadingly before she too overloaded hard.  
_

_Seeing that he had lost the seeker's attention, Shockwave asked, "Is that all… Commander?" Leaving her stupor, Starscream returned her gaze to the mech and gave him an, almost sweet smile before nodding._

_"Yes, Lord Megatron will be most pleased. Now, why don't we leave these femmes to continue their work? I have a report to give our glorious leader, after all."_

_Shockwave nodded and gestured for her to leave first. Starscream felt her fist clench at her sides as she and the cyclops entered the elevator again. Her rage slowly coursed through her veins and burned her insides as the images of Elita and her team being repeatedly raped for energon branded itself in her mind. Her anger grew and grew until she could no longer control it. Without warning, dark spikes tattooed themselves over her face, and her scars began to light up._

_The energy within her was released, suddenly and with enough force to cause the entire base to black out and knock Shockwave cold. The mech didn't even have time to question what was going on before he was knocked back into the wall._

_In that moment, Starscream completed many tasks that some would call "impossible"._

_She freed the femmes from that horrible place, destroyed the machine—which inadverdantly destroyed a huge portion of Darkmount—returned the tramatized warriors to their base, and altering Shockwave's memory, she made sure the mech knew nothing of his machine or how successful it was in creating energon and she deleted any plans revolving around the contrapation from every device she knew of._

_When the cyclops awoke, she fed him some slag about coming to check up on him and Darkmount before being attacked by the Autobots. He bought it, allowing her to return to the Nemesis and give her false report to Megatron._

_After injecting herself with her medicine to ease the ache in her spark, she sighed. She couldn't believe what she'd done. What had she been thinking?_

_Saving her enemy at the cost of her spark was definitely not in her plans!_

_She shook her head realizing that she hadn't been. She had no idea how thoroughly Shockwave had destroyed the mental state of those femmes or how emotionally scarred they would be once they fully recovered. All she knew was that she had to save them from that disgusting excuse of a mech. Just seeing what he was doing to them… what he was using them for was enough to trigger her and anger and do everything she had._

_Decepticons, Autobots? That didn't matter in that moment. All that mattered was helping those poor souls. Even if she'd aided the enemy, Starscream was proud of what she did._

_She laid on her berth and did nothing but slept for the next week. She needed time to recover from her extordinary feats._

**XXX**

* * *

Ultra Magnus stared at Starscream as she finished the horrific tale. Shock and disgust swam in his optics and he felt his tanks knot up. He remembered the femmes disappearing and then suddenly reappearing outside their base, naked, and in tears. When asked about what happened to them, all they would say was Shockwave captured them and used them in one of his twisted experiments. They didn't know who set them free and brought them back to their base, too traumatized through what they went and suffered at Shockwave's hands.

Now he saw why they wouldn't talk about it. He couldn't imagine what that must've been like for them… just like he couldn't imagine how much strength for Starscream to accomplish what she did—helping her enemies and getting them back to their base on top of going against the Decepticons… He had a greater respect for the seekeress now.

"Are you happy now?" Starscream asked in an annoyed time, lying on her side on the berth and facing away from Ultra. "Not exactly what I wanted to remember before going to recharge."

"I'm sorry," Ultra said sincerely, surprising the femme. "I… can't imagine what that must've been like… for all of you. Thank you for telling me, Starscream."

What he didn't say that in telling him what she did, Starscream allowed Ultra to understand her a little better. He now understood why she behaved the way she did with the—both then and now. He also knew why she saved them.

They were being raped.

Her sire raped her.

She couldn't bare something like that happening right before her optics. She had to do something to help them…spare them the pain she suffered. In a way, Starscream may have, unintentionally, found kindered spirits in each of the Autobot femmes she saved that day. If she told them she was the one to save them, Ultra had no doubt that she'd have several new friends and allies. And not just the femmes.

However, in the end, it was Starscream's choice to reveal to them that she was the savior. At the moment, she chose to leave that bit of information in the dark.

No need to reopen old wounds, he supposed.

Thinking about it now, Ultra Magnus now felt worse for what he almost did to her yesterday morning. "I'm sorry I brought up those memories. Starscream, we really owe you, big time. Thank you."

"Forget about it," she stated with a dismissive wave. "I don't need your pity or your thanks. All I need from you and yours is safety for me and my family and a life free of enslavement. That's…all I want."

Knowing she couldn't see it with her back turned to him, Ultra smiled. He didn't mind the way she casually shrugged off his thanks and apologies—it was part of what made her Starscream. And, in some strange way, it reminded him a lot of himself.

"Whatever you say, Starscream."

Starscream sighed before powering down for some much needed recharge. When he was sure she was asleep, Ultra laid on his back beside her—but he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about all the horrible things Starscream must've seen—not just where Shockwave was concerned, but with the Decepticons… and her life in general.

However, that wasn't the only reason he couldn't sleep after a while.

A few minutes after he'd laid down, Starscream, once again, unconsciously turned over and reached for him—cuddling against his frame and smiling contentedly. Ultra sighed, her body must've been seeking the warmth his body provided. Reaching for a thermal blanket, he covered her winged back and began trailing his fingertips up and down her side as he looked at her. The seeker purred happily at the attention and nuzzled his chest as she continued to sleep.

He didn't mind… she deserved at least a little comfort and peace.

Primus, he couldn't imagine how she survived the horror story that was her life… It seemed so unfair for all that to hapen to one individual only.

He let her hug him and nuzzle his chest. However, just as it had the day before, Magnus' spike escaped its prison, demanding attention from him… or her.

Carefully taking himself in hand, Ultra began softly pumping his shaft. He tried not to wake her as he took one of her hands and replaced his own with hers. Wrapping her fingers around the spike loosely, Ultra was surprised when she actually squeezed, causing him to groan lowly in pleasure. He guided her up and down his mech-hood, then rolled her palm around the head. Pre-cum began leaking from his tip, helping to lubricate his spike so he could move her smaller hand a bit faster without too much resistance.

A few minutes of this later and Ultra was biting his lips to keep from crying out as he overloaded, hard. Transfluid shot from his spike so strongly it splattered on the ceiling, staining it. Magnus stared up at the ceiling, his limbs relaxing into the berth as he enjoyed the afterglow of his overload. He looked over at Starscream, who was still sleeping peacefully beside him. Completely unaware of what she'd done… of what he'd made her do.

' _She can't ever know about this…not ever,_ ' he concluded, retrieving a cloth from his subspace and carefully cleaning Starscream's hand of his transfluid before taking care of himself. Tossing the cloth into the waste bin near his berth, Ultra tucked his spike away and then allowed himself to relax against Starscream's warmth. He had to admit, it wasn't so bad drifting off with a beautiful seekeress in his arms.

 _'I hope I wake up early enough to clean the ceiling,_ ' was his last thought before entering recharge.

Starscream, meanwhile, was blissfully unaware. She continued sleeping, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. All she felt was a warm, friendly frame against hers and a pair of strong, comforting arms that shielded her from the creatures lurking in the shadows... waiting for their oportunity to embrace her back into the dark.

**...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...please comment?
> 
> Let's explain Prowl's and Magnus' ooc in the last chap for a confused reader:
> 
> Prowl's fear of Starscream, her condition, he might have acted a little OOC just as Magnus, but let's be honest, no matter how much he respects Prime or his enemies he still fears her- and who wouldn't- (Plus hates her because she has Magnus the mech he wants), she's a time bomb after all witho those powers and practicing a lobotomy on her seems like the easiest way out from the winged problem...just like her uncle who banished her when she was younger as he also believed her to be a danger for Vos' population,
> 
> I don't think I need to explain what Magnus did, after all, for his minions he's as all fair and educated as a ruler; but what if that's just a mask of rectitude for his followers? What if behind doors, where no one can see or judge him, he turns to a darker personality? Besides, Starscream was given for his personal use, remember? The fact that he resisted until now doesn't means he will resist forever his lower instincts no matter his code of honour.
> 
> Hope that explained it.
> 
> please comment and leave me some kuddos :)


	33. Twenty-nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're reaching the end.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro, the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: possible OOCness, remember it is an AU and said things may happen...or I might exagerate.
> 
> With the help of missCHSparkles I could write the last scene with Magnus...hope you enjoy xo

**Chapter 29**

Starscream held her head as she sat against Magnus's desk in their shared quarters; she could feel that something was wrong, that something was about to happen but have no idea, she just felt it deep inside her spark.

Like the pressure lowered when a storm was coming, when thunder made itself heard, that was how she would describe what she was feeling.

But who will believe her?

Many things she kept for herself or wrote them in her diary, many things her cousins or even Hook were totally oblivious about her own persona….and besides they have their own problems to worry about hers or the things she can feel. No, speaking to them was out of question.

Her cousins now left to speak with Magnus alone and soon will come with her, but so far she was alone; even if she disliked the idea greatly and always sought company to keep the shadows away, today anyways she couldn't help but feel the utter need to be alone to think in her situation.

She couldn't trust the Prime either with this; she was very unstable now as her body changed from being a powerful mech to a delicate spikeless femme.

And not just her, but many others! Named Prowl, Red Alert, those annoying, bitchy twins or that yellow bumble-something minibot.

Now she regretted more than ever the stupidity of leaving her diary behind into that lab only to have that idiot laughable remedal of engineer to change her formula and do Primus knows what!

"Fragging afthole..." She cursed between gritted teeth. "That was the ingredient for ONE dosis! If you wanted to do more then you must have prepared another oven!"

The worst of it all was that since the former mechs were now turned into femmes, and some of them very high ranking mechs such as the Prime or his Second the base is possibly going to spiral into chaos, and now with them the seeker felt that whoever dark creature attacked before it will attack soon again.

"Very soon…" Starscream said watching around in the darkened room not noticing a single shadow or even an anima around which was odd; there was _Always_ at least one and so far she could stay here alone without being attacked.

She lifted herself up from the chair and looked around while taking a decision.

"I need to go to the Nemesis..."

_**...** _

* * *

Walking towards the exit she noticed that many mechs were not in their spots which was even more strange than before.

Frowning, she said to herself. "They are soldiers, where are they? Why are they not working?"

Finally shrugging it off she powered up her thrusters and took off towards the Nemesis; no one stopped her.

Hours later she reached the place the platform of her old and abandoned base should rise, but she knew better and it won't rise since the place was practically drained from energon; so, sighing she powered off her thrusters and let herself fall to the deep, blue, cold and dark ocean.

Her body went downwards and so she started swimming downwards needing to get inside faster and do whatever needed to do inside….and there it was, the secret entrance she made herself one day when in need to escape Megatron's wrath after disobeying one of his orders not noticing that by doing so she just saved his aft…

Shaking off her head of those thoughts or how she managed to dig a hole to escape her prison, she just entered it after lighten it a little to see where she was going. After all she didn't wished to use her radar to gave up her location to whoever might be inside or near the Nemesis.

Moments later Starscream was walking by the brig after opening her secret door and entered; everything seemed so dark and quiet that she could even hear her spark beatings against her chest plus her loud -in this silence- steps that echoed even loudly giving some kind of an eerie and haunting atmosphere.

Ignoring it all she walked towards her quarters; the only light coming from her red optics making the environment look even more diabolical than it already presented itself plus with the sounds of her echoing steps, the water dripping somewhere and little light scratching like sounds she caught here and there.

' _Maybe some rats get in here somehow, sometime_...' She thought suppressing a shiver that threatened to come out in her disgust.

Finally she reached her quarters only to find the door open; she scowled at that and entered before forcing the door to close. Once that was done she then looked for the special place in which she saved the energon she never consumed and opened finding only a few cubes in; it seemed that Hook came and took some after they stopped raiding the plants.

Well, it will serve her with at least three; Once she took the needed cubes she went towards her little lab and downloaded their contents into a fusion generator, that made she then walked towards her own console and using her newly acquired knowledge, used the energy from her fingers to power it up enough so a little plug appeared, the plug she needed to play the fusion generator and soon her quarters were lightened up.

The seeker onlined every and all of her consoles and computers in her room, even the hidden ones and started typing several codes that appeared in the black screen of each one.

Without her noticing as she typed the almost infinite codes in full concentration, someone was watching her from one of the vents, a creature with deep red optics and who disliked the light.

…

* * *

A very silent creature, a survivor with little hands and big ears removed the grill of the vent and set it aside before coming out from its hiding place and crawled by the walls using the advantage of her back being given to him as she typed so, like a cowardly creature that hid in the shadows and attacked by the back, this one prepared its pointed fangs to do so just as his sharpened claws to not let go of his victim if this one dared to fight him.

...he was hungry and needed to refuel…

...and what better chance than this one?

Believing he was being soundless, he jumped towards her back…

However he was not expecting her to turn around just as fast as he moved and stopped him with a single move of her hand paralyzing him whole and for a moment he could feel his energon running cold.

His creator's natural enemy could with him so easily…

"Ratbat?" She gasped not believing what she just found...or found her. "You're alive? But...how?"

The cassette continued trying to move but it was useless, somehow she produced some kind of invisible electricity that paralyzed him whole...but that was not what scared him but her next words.

"You're a vampire… your creator is dead… and I cannot allow another of your kin to crawl free in this place...or any place..."

Ratbat tried to get himself free or at least squeak for her to spare him from death but it was useless; so, taking a knife, the seeker came towards his paralyzed little frame and prepared herself to lower the weapon just before she noticed his pleading optics.

"Why should I let you live?" She demanded a quick answer.

" _Because only I know what happened here!_ " He replied and she removed the knife from his sight obviously understanding and hearing him as he used telepathy, something she just learned as well….which worried her because this were abilities that one developed before...

"Explain!"

He nodded and instead telling her, showed her…

_How he hid…_

_How a strange shadow entered and killed everyone at the same time, his family included…_

_How it couldn't enter the medbay…_

_How the autobots entered and what they took…_

_How he survived with the energon Hook left in the medbay, hoping one day to be able and escape this place…_

Starscream let him go after watching everything the little cassette showed. "You can come with me if you behave, but now I need to reach Cybertron; the autobots were complaining that they were unable to reach any connection with them and that obviously the space gate is unable to be used."

Ratbat tilted his head to the side and said, " _I can help you to reach whatever you need faster._ "

The seeker considered this before returning to her typing task that lasted for at least a couple of hours, by then Ratbat, now fully refueled was sleeping peacefully on her lap as she finally typed the last codes and could connect with her spy drones in Darkmount.

She mentioned once to Ultra Magnus that she possessed such thing and he insisted her that he wanted to see them in action to show him what was happening in their planet and why in the name of Primus not even the single opticed guardian wasn't answering to their calls!

...and now she knew why…

"Primus..." She gasped as everything was too dark for her to see from her drone's camera. Then she decided to take a risk and used the machine's sonar that will indicate her the situation of the base in Kaon and the exact location of the robot.

However everything seemed to be Ok, then why was everything so dark?

Ratbat lifted his little head from her lap and looked at the screens in front of them as she typed before the night vision of the drone activated and she gave the order for it to move and explore…

...only to find desolation and…

"Oh no..." She said and Ratbat covered his mouth to not squeak in horror at the sight of many mechs sprawled all over the floor, naked, tattooed and dead. "What in Primus' name is going on with the universe?!"

As the drone continued moving she could devise Shockwave's body in the same condition his soldiers were.

Later when she left the Nemesis towards the Ark along with Ratbat she couldn't help but think that maybe the creature who did this possibly did the same with all of Cybertron and possibly its colonies since no one else answered… Could it be?

" _What you're saying is...horrible, someone is trying to kill us all?_ " Ratbat said as she hadn't noticed she was speaking out loud.

She was in her jet mode so she couldn't shake her head but answer the cassette. "I don't know but it seems he made his purpose to kill us all… like a disease out of control or a plague that invades and consumes all the resources available, I think this killer is like this… whoever he is, he is ending up destroying us… just like _he_ would have done it if he wasn't stopped."

At this Ratbat looked at her control panel. " _Who?_ "

"No one..." Starscream replied coldly so the little bat cassette remained quiet for a while.

The moment she set her pedes in the Ark, Starscream ran to see Hook since she couldn't contact her cousins.

Even if the cameras followed her every step she wondered why Red Alert was not alerting every mech in the Ark that she escaped for a few hours without permission or company….it wasn't very autobot-like to be this neglectful.

Later when she reached the medbay found a busy Hook with Ratchet explaining him the things he needed to do and practically kicked her away with Ratchet argumenting:

"I don't have time for your whims! I'm a busy mech so now get out, I have my hands full."

"But this is important!" She insisted but only failed as the medbay doors closed after her.

" _What if we go to the Prime?_ " Ratbat suggested and she shook her head.

"No, she will be very unstable by now..." She replied. "Everything is in chaos and no one is doing anything… I don't know if you do but I can feel it! Something's gonna happen and the lack of security from this place is proof enough!"

" _She? Who else is a femme here? First you and now the Prime?_ " It seemed that was the only thing that mattered for Ratbat….femmes...and here.

Starscream just ignored his questions for the rest of her travel back to her quarters, the quarters she shared with Ultra Magnus and once there she paced the room like a caged beast thinking on what she can do if no one will believe her or help her.

" _I believe you...I can help you..._ " Ratbat said but before she could reply the doors unlocked and she ordered him to hide but stay close.

"Hey Star, there you are; where you've been the whole day? This was a day of crazy you know?" Skywarp started and continued, "You will not believe what we just did this morning!"

"You better take a seat as we explain." Now Thundercracker said and she felt worried somehow. "We need to talk..." He started and her spark beat harder against her chest.

"Is about what is happening between you and Magnus….and your body..." The blue seeker continued and she asked worried;

"What is going on?"

"We went to see your not so friendly friend Ultra Magnus this morning..." Skywarp started.

…

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

"What do you want, can't you see I'm busy?!" Ultra Magnus barely hid his tone of annoyment against his new visitors that were invading his office.

"We need to talk about Starscream," Thundercracker started.

"I have nothing to say about the matter and I've never touched her if you worry about it." Magnus declared making both seekers look at him with their optic ridges lifted. "Now, if you don't mind, I have other business to attend."

Again both seekers stopped him. Thundercracker was slightly higher than Magnus and Skywarp was his size. Both were too big to fight and came out without several injuries no matter how much of a good fighter he was as a commander.

"This is important and it concerns both of you… and us." The blue seeker continues. "This must stop, your ill behaviour towards our cousin has a reason that can be easily resolved."

"Sort of… is not that easy as you say." Skywarp stated looking at Magnus suspiciously.

"Go to the point… Please." The blue commander said and requested as he sat on his chair gesturing to the two seekers to follow his example.

"I will go to the point as you asked, there is no other way of softening it anyways..." Thundercracker started again before taking some air and continued. "Starscream is in something that is called 'heat' and is in need of interfacing and a way of getting it is to attract mechs by the unconscious release of a pheromone that will bring her mechs for her to use while in this period.

However, as you know, she cannot carry, but her body still does recognizes the change and is sending you signals that it wants to interface. You see, our body and our mind are two different things and her body is in need of it." The blue seeker explained quickly.

"In a few words, you both need to fragg each other to resolve your problems." Skywarp resumed what his brother was about to say.

Said brother was looking at him with wide furious optics. "Warp!" he barked and the other flinched.

"But is the truth!" the purple winged mech continued. "If they don't frag each other he will be so upset and frustrated that he will end up killing her before reducing her to scraps without even knowing what's he's doing!"

"I don't have time for this!" Ultra Magnus said utterly annoyed. "I don't know why you're selling your cousin to me or who gave you that ridiculousness idea that we need to do _that_ or maybe the Prime somehow convinced you two to do it! I don't care. I have lots of things to do." And he started leaving again before both seekers stepped in his way again.

"This is serious!" Skywarp pointed out and Magnus frowned at him; this seeker never speak serious… however now his expression was.

"It is, Ultra Magnus, If we could we would keep our beloved cousin virgin forever, but she's not even that! We at least want to make sure that the mech that sleeps with her at least cares enough for her body to not hurt her until the ache is gone." Thundercracker almost pleaded and Magnus was deciding to consider it was indeed serious what they were saying...

...too serious actually.

"Yeah, just 'till the ache is gone," Skywarp nodded eagerly. "No strings attached, as humans says."

Magnus just frowned looking from one seeker to the other. "You swear on your cousin's spark that this is not a joke or some kind of sick mind game created by the Prime to get us together?"

"We will never lie about it; Starscream is aberrant of interfacing and… honestly talking, she never saw a spike in her life." The blue seeker assured.

"Except her sire's one when he was about to rape her again right in front of us." Skywarp added and the other two blue mechs froze at the statement with their optics wide open. Even Thundercracker's bark to his younger brother died in his throat. "But that doesn't counts and it was a long time ago… when her sire still existed and she took our place for us and took that bastard's punishment for us."

As both mechs remained mute, Skywarp continued. "So, now you see why we're here… we just want you to be gentle with her until the ache of the heat is gone. you will both feel better and your hostility towards her will disappear because you will not be frustrated anymore with your body's desire's object… I'm serious with that, is what happens to the mech if he's rejected by-"

"I know! Shut up!" Magnus interrupted him and took a hold of his head still processing everything.

"She will not get with spark, you know, she's way too weak for that." The teleporter added nonetheless.

"Primus, what did I get myself into?! What did Optimus get myself into?!" Magnus moaned and felt as if his energon leaved his head and started growing dizzy before reaching for his desk and support most of his weight against it.

"Hey! Easy there, dude… You need to take it easy, breathe, is a lot of info to take in and yelling, cursing or thrashing around about it will not make it go away, it will only worsen it because it will not be the solution you both need." Skywarp said softly after reaching for the sub commander who seemed to be fighting something hard to get inside.

Finally, minutes after Thundercracker reprimanded his younger brother for revealing such piece of Starscream's buried past, Magnus seemed to recover his voice and said in a lost and worried look. "She's a rape victim, an abused femme..."

"Yeah, so? You think she's filthy or something? That doesn't makes her less femme than the femmes you ever been with, it was a long time ago when that happened and your medics fixed her to near perfection… I say near because the only missing thing they couldn't put back was her seal, but I bet she's tight as a virgin-"

"Warp!" Once again Thundercracker interrupted him but the other continued nonetheless.

"She is practically a virgin! What Nightscream did to her was without her consent so it doesn't counts! She's untouched! ….and thank Primus she will not need to get through the pain of seal breaking… again..."

"Warp…!" Thundercracker's menacing voice wasn't what stopped Skywarp from his ramblings.

"In the hypothetical case I consent… She will never let me… What you're suggesting me to do is possibly one of her many worst nightmares!" Standing from his chair, Magnus walked around thinking.

"We will talk to her about this again," Thundercracker once again assured. "Is a necessary evil that will do you both good. Unfortunately as you said it is one of her worst nightmares but your hostile behaviour towards her must end, especially since you both share the same misgivings."

"What should I do? Go and seduce her?" Magnus asked and both seekers alarmed making him frown.

"No!" Both exclaimed but Skywarp continued. "We said, no strings attached… besides, if you do, she will only get away from you faster and will reject you more. Leave it to us, we will tell you when she's ready for it and when not."

Magnus could only nod at that. He still didn't liked the idea of interfacing Starscream, his once worst enemy after Megatron… but somehow a little piece of him felt thrilled.

"Can _you_ seduce someone?" Asked Skywarp not really convinced of that fact with his head tilted to the side and an optic ridge lifted.

However this time Thundercracker could only facepalm himself.

"Of course I can," Ultra Magnus burst out defensively before realising what the Seeker had asked. He felt like imitating Thundercracker's action except he'd look stupid then. Instead, he tried to look as dignified as possible and hope they would leave it at that.

But of course...

"You do?" Skywarp said in astonishment. "How?"

"That's my business," Magnus said tersely as Skywarp said. "Nuh uh, we need to make sure you won't do something stupid."

"Well...you tell me what isn't socially acceptable when courting Seekers and I won't make any mistakes," the large bot countered.

"But...," Skywarp started before Thundercracker interrupted.

"Leave it," he told his brother.

Turning to Ultra Magnus, Thundercracker said. "If you really are interested in more about our culture, we would be happy to assist you."

Ultra Magnus nodded curtly, glad the subject appeared to be dropped. This whole thing with Starscream was just crazy and he was doubly annoyed with his brother...well, he wasn't exactly a brother any more. But anyway, why did he have to be chosen to mate with that Starscream, it was madness. Yes, she was a rare Femme but surely better to have found someone who wanted to be with the Seeker...and vice versa.

"So you're still gonna frag her?" Skywarp asked and Magnus grimaced.

"We'll see how it goes," he muttered, not wanting to discuss the subject any further.

"Just be gentle," Thundercracker advised. "As we've said, she has no experience of being intimate and because of her past, she'll be scared."

"I know what to do," Magnus said gruffly. "I would never be rough with a femme."

"Good," Thundercracker said with a nod. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

"About what?" Magnus said before realising what he meant. "Oh...well, I suppose we might as well."

After that hours passed while they talked; Ultra Magnus seemed uncomfortable all the moment but they continued telling him things nonetheless. It was pure luck that Optimus Prime had reduced his tasks lately so he could dedicate more to Starscream…

...however the blue autobot was not happy with it, his body emanated his displeasure about it all the time and now felt like merely a low assistant as almost all his work was given to Prowl or Jazz…

...that disturbed him more than what he needed to do with the former Decepticon Second in Command.

**END FLASHBACK**

…

* * *

"He's getting hostile towards me because of the heat? That cannot be!" Starscream said and both brothers looked at each other in worry,

"And it will only get worse as time passes; his body will start reacting to your pheromones and since both of you don't want to do it, that is what is working as a wall for him and in the end he will end up frustrated and may kill you since he will not know what to do with all that energy." Skywarp explained his horrified cousin.

"No, I refuse! I will not do THAT!" Starscream almost screeched before remembering that they were being watched.

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter, Star." Thundercracker added that fact with a grim and worried face.

"Yeah, in the end you will not care and will end up jumping someone… if someone doesn't jumps you first." Skywarp continued caressing softly at her wings trying to calm her down.

"We know how you feel about it, Star… how you never… how you never liked the idea of sharing such activities and we know why." The blue seeker assured the best he could. "We will protect you, we owe you that much and much more..."

She lifted up from the berth and once again paced the room desperately with quivering wings.

"Is not so bad, Star, you will see..." Skywarp tried once again but she only barked him to shut up.

"Something's gonna happen… I can feel it… I can feel it...like the chaos that is surrounding us, like the Prime being turned a femme… like all those dead mechs in the entire galaxy!"

"Starscream? You have to calm down..." This time Thundercracker tried but she continued rambling desperately.

"Like the lack of shadows!" She screamed taking her head. "I can feel him… he's close….and is hungry.. the energy has changed..." Then gasped with her optics empty as if looking at the distance. "He's here...

...and is coming for us."

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a surprise for my loyal readers; stay tunned ;)  
> thank you for your coments, each one of them is treasured in my heart :)


	34. Thirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end is almost there, everything turns around our desicions, is what it make us who we are and what we are. For Starscream, this reaches a deeper level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you noticed I've changed my name?  
> well, yeah, got bored from it XD
> 
> Hi there, before start with the chapter, can I ask you for a favour please? will you my dear reader, yes, you there, will you grant me a wish? Just one… will you please give me a review for this chapter? I know there are many of you following this, so please… I'd like you all, because I know is possible, to review this :')
> 
> well, here is the end…. well, not really, there is the Epilogue left in which you will see what was Starscream's fate in reality and I hope it is to your liking :)
> 
> Primus, it took me forever to finish this chapter since my life was a busy one this year, plus the block, law school is demanding and also are my friends and family, all of them waiting for their turn with me…
> 
> oh, and if you're curious about what I've also been up to all this time without updating you can check in my profile to see the list of stories I write with my friends MissCHSparkles and Cartoon Dragon, give us some love there too plz :)
> 
> anyways, it's been two years since the prologue was published; I honestly thought that I would have finished it in months but things happened, and I dearly want to thank all those dear friends who read me and reviewed me through the years always waiting for an update, and will love if you make this girl a favor and let me know what you think in a review, I will really love to read all of you too.
> 
> Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Takara/Hasbro, the only thing that is mine is the plot of this story.
> 
> Warnings: possible OOCness, foul language, massive death of characters, and some sexual mentions.
> 
> Writen by me and betaed by the lovely Cartoon Dragon :*
> 
> Enjoy this super long chapter :)
> 
> ...

**Chapter 30**

Unable to control her raging emotions, Starscream felt she was going crazy. Too many things were going through her overheating processor as she paced her room restlessly, greatly reminding her onlookers of a caged beast.

"Oh Primus, oh Primus, oh Primus. What am I going to do? What _can_ I do?" She completely ignored her worried cousins as she continued mumbling to herself. They watched her like a hawk, ready to act if she needed them; but their worry quickly became horror when they saw tears streaming from her optics. What was worse, it felt as if there wasn't anything they could do to stop or help her.

As Starscream continued her pacing, a shadow suddenly flew towards and latched onto her face, covering it and startling her into stillness. Before the scream could even leave her vocalizer, Skywarp and Thundercracker were by her side, ready to rip the little facehugger off her. The creature quickly moved from Starscream's face to her neck.

Starscream shrieked in both pain and rage as tiny, pointy fangs bit into her neck, _hard._

"What the frag?! Ratbat!" The cassette released a surprised squeaked in surprise as he was roughly yanked from Starscream's neck and thrown to the ground by the femme before nursing her new wound.

"Ratbat?" Thundercracker and Skywarp said in unison as they watched the bat-like Cybertronian crawl up the walls and ceiling before moving above the seekeress. "He's alive?!"

 _"You need to calm down, Starscream. If the beast is really here, then you must focus,"_ He stated simply, earning a frown from Starscream. She continued rubbing her neck and pursed her lips at the creature. However, while she could perfectly understand Ratbat, all the other two seekers could understand were tiny beeps.

"Where did you find him?" Thundercracker asked, trying to gain Starscream's attention, only to have her completely ignore him in favor of Ratbat as it continued to chirp. "Uh…Starscream?"

This time, the femme look at her cousins before answering, "I found him on the Nemesis." She returned her gaze to Ratbat and opening her arms for him to jump into them. As the cassette settled, she continued, "I went there this morning."

"And no one stopped you?" Skywarp asked, confused.

"No. No one stopped me…not even Red Alert…" she trailed off, losing herself to her thoughts as she contemplated this realization. Red Alert was very well known for being overly cautions. If she even suspected that Starscream was trying to leave the Ark, she'd stop her and report to Prime in an instant.

" _You're thinking too much again. Why don't you just do what you know you have to?_ " The cassette mused arrogantly, causing the femme holding him to tighten her grip around him to the point of chocking him. _"Eeeep!"_

"Shut. _Up._ You're not helping in the least, mangy rodent!" Starscream shouted, startling the other two Seeker and getting them to stare at her, confusion and shock clear on their faces.

"Uhh…Star?" Skywarp began, stepping toward and reaching a servo out toward his cousin. "Are you okay?"

The femme looked at the darker Seeker. She was shocked by the confusion she saw in both his and Thundercracker's features. Didn't they feel it? That cold, suffocating darkness that seemed to be coming from every shadow.

" _They think you're crazy, Starscream,_ " Ratbat stated. _"Just look at them. They can't feel what you do, see what you can—not like me. They don't even believe that you can feel and see what you do. They're completely oblivious to the truth that hides around every corner. That's the behavior of ignorants. Believe me when I say, you need to push them away in order to complete your task."_

Starscream frowned and grabbed the creature by the neck, bringing him up to optic level so that he could see her blazing orbs. "I am _not_ crazy! I will _never_ leave them behind! They're all I have left, you little blood sucker," She stated venomously. "You're a vampire, your kind were extinguished because they were evil! Perhaps I should finish you now, so you might join them?"

Ratbat flailed desperate when he felt Starscream's hand tightening around his neck. He squeaked desperately as she went for the kill. _"You're proving them all right by answering me like that…Please, don't—don't kill me. I want revenge as much as you do, remember? That monster killed my brothers and creator!"_

"Your creator…? Your creator?! Your creator killed all the mechs he could get his filthy servos on in the Nemesis! He killed possible survivors and transformed them into mindless zombies!" She roared.

" _He was desperate_!" Ratbat defended. _"We were losing the war! We were about to lose everything! You think he didn't notice Shockwave's lack of communication? He did! The first thing he suspected was Prime contacting his troops and ordering them to kill every last Decepticon they came across—and don't ask me how that was even possible! We were out of resources; we couldn't even spy on the Autobots anymore—we had no idea if they'd lost communication with their own people! And we were starving!"_

Starscream loosened her hold on the cassette as he continued to speak. By the time he had finished, her grip was light enough for him to escape. However, he remained in her arms.

Ratbat needed to prove his loyalty to the femme by not attempting to escape. Besides that, technically speaking, she was his superior now. As well as the enemy of his enemy.

" _I can help you_ ," He stated more calmly. _"But this is a task, I'm afraid you must carry out alone. Your cousins, as well as everyone else on this ship, will never believe in something they can't see."_

"Starscream?" It was the blue seeker who addressed Starscream this time. Looking up at her cousin, she released Ratbat, who quickly latched onto and perched on her shoulder as if he belonged there. "Star, what's going on? What is Ratbat doing here and… was he talking to you?"

"And could you actually understand him?" Skywarp now questioned, looking at the cassette with suspicion as he beeped in her audio softly.

She sighed before shaking her head. "It's nothing… don't worry."

"Don't worry?" Thundercracker asked incredulously. "Star, we're family, remember? We have no secrets… you can tell us anything." Starscream completely ignored him and made her way toward the door. "Star? Where are you going?"

The femme didn't answer and continued walking to the door. Thundercracker and Skywarp stared after their cousin's retreating back before looking at each other. Skywarp gave the blue seeker a question glance, which was quickly answered with a nod. Starscream sensed their approach before they even had a chance to touch her. Turning on her heel, she extended her hands towards them.

The brothers felt the air rush out of the air pumps as an invisible force sent them flying before pinning each to the wall. Despite how hard they hit the wall, there was not enough force behind the assault to knock them off-line.

"Don't try to stop me," She said coldly before turning and leaving the room.

" _Wow…when'd you learn to do that?_ " Ratbat asked, surprised by Starscream's new display of power. The seekeress remained silent.

The cassette released a surprised yelp, nearly falling off his perch when Starscream came to an abrupt halt. Before he could ask her why she'd stopped, he felt it. The two trembled as waves of dark energy washed over all their senses. While Ratbat couldn't see the darkness, Starscream could see it as clear as crystal.

"Starscream!"

Starscream couldn't even curse herself for allowing her cousins to follow her. She was too stunned to even notice when each grabbed one of her wrists.

"Come one Star," Thundercracker began. "Let's talk about…" The blue seeker trailed off as he began to feel lightheaded and… weak.

"Star… what's going on?" Skywarp asked, feeling the same sensations as his brother. "Are you doing this?"

Ratbat gave Starscream a pointed look as she faced her cousins, a guilty expression on her face. He beeped at her, insisting that she didn't need to give them an explanation… but she believed otherwise. They needed to know what she did… otherwise, they may die.

She shook her head, answering Skywarp's last question before smiling sadly at them. "I'm sorry for trying to push you away just now… I… Ever since I killed Nightscream, I've been able to see and feel things that you don't have the _slightest_ inkling about… I've seen creatures in the dark… and some in the light… I've told you once… but you—my family—laughed at me... You said it was only my imagination and told me not to worry about it… Neither one of you have any idea how much I wanted it to be just that… how much I wished there weren't really monsters…

But there were. They were everywhere, and they all wanted to hurt me… Skyfire's family knew that I was telling the truth. They tried testing me to see if there was an abbnormalty with my processor—but found nothing out of the ordinary… However, they did find a special place in my spark chamber where it connects to my processor. They knew what was wrong with me and tried to help me. They made the visions, the feelings go away by keeping me busy with my projects. They kept me company, they talked to me, loved me—anything to distract me from seeing, hearing, or feeling them!"

She confessed everything to her cousins, hoping against hope that this time they would believe her. To her disappointment, they only stared at her with shock and disbelief.

"I don't have time for this," She stated, sighing sadly. " …Excuse me." She turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could, her trinemates right on her thrusters. While they didn't know what was going on, they did know that whatever was happening was causing their cousin a lot of distress and fear.

Starscream gasped as a sudden cold stabbed at her spark, but she didn't falter in the slightest. _"What's wrong?"_ Ratbat asked.

"I saw something… I can feel that something is happening…" She focused on the feeling, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Her optics grew wide when she discovered the source.

"Prime!" She exclaimed, turning a corner and increasing her pace. As she ran, the lights darkened—much to Thundercracker's and Skywarp's surprise, and hers and Ratbat's horror.

"Run!" The femme yelled over her shoulder to her chasing cousins while she ran as if Unicron himself was after them.

"Starscream, what's going on?" The blue mech shouted.

Her only answer was, "Run!"

What she didn't add, so as not to cause them any more panic than she already had, was:

'... _unless you want to die_!'

**XXX**

* * *

Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus looked up and frowned as the lights in his office flickered, darkening every time.

"What's going on?" He wondered aloud. He attempted Red Alert to figure out what was happening, but the Security Officer was absent, strangely enough. She hadn't reported any anomalies lately—not even Skywarp's teleportation were being reported anymore.

Absently, he wondered if being turned into a femme had become hard on her?

He frowned in annoyance when he tried to contact his… _Prime_ and received no answer yet again. Deciding that he had worked long enough for today—that and the flickering lights made doing work difficult—Magnus decided to leave the office and try to find someone that could explain what in the Pit was going on.

He entered the hallway, only to find the lights there where dimmed to the point of being dark. Some blinked ominously, creating a creepy aura.

He shook the thought off, trying not to think of how much this current situation reminded him of what he saw when Starscream gave him her sight. However, he did decide that—instead of wandering the base, hoping to find someone—he should go directly to his sister's office.

The hallway grew completely dark suddenly, getting Ultra to come to a sudden stop, his spark now pounding in his chest. _"What in the Pit?"_ he swore within his mind, trying to smother out the fear and anxiety trying to bubble up within him. The lights came back on as suddenly as they went out, revealing a certain femme blocking his path.

To his amazement, Ultra Magnus felt as if he were paralyzed as she walked towards him gracefully and with confidence. The evil smirk plastered on her beautiful face did nothing to settle his now racing processor and rapidly pulsing spark.

Something was very wrong here.

He could feel it.

**XXX**

* * *

"This way!" Starscream shouted, turning another corner sharply before seeing something that froze her to her very core. A dark smoke—and she could feel the cold evil radiating from it like a choking smaug. Despite this however, she forced herself not to pause, to keep running until she reached the Prime's office.

Her spark quivered when she saw that the door was wide open.

Inside the office, Optimus Prime was cradling a naked Elita in her arms, kneeling on the floor and shaking as if she were cold. She held her unconscious mate closer, her blue optics haunted and her chest plates wide open, revealing the shining light of the holy relic apart of her spark.

Starscream froze in horror, knowing exactly what had happened to Elita. She had been attacked by the beast—and it seemed Prime had been able to stop the attack just in time. Any later and Elita would've been consumed like the countless many before her.

"The Matrix once again banished evil from this place—but for how long?" Starscream whispered softly, Ratbat being the only one able to hear her as her cousins hurried towards the two high ranking femmes. "…But for how long?" The tri-colored seekeress repeated.

"E-Elita…" The Prime stuttered, gently shaking the pink femme in an attempt to wake her. She remained uncounscious however. The Prime was unable to release her mate as Skywarp tried to help them.

"Come on Prime, she'll be okay," The dark seeker stated softly, finally getting her to acknowledge his presence. "We have to go to the med-bay. Now."

Optimus only stared at Skywarp for several long nano-klicks, not appearing to have understood him. However, as she shifted her gaze to Starscream clarity returned to her. Blue and red optics met for the briefest of moments, before Optimus' optics lowered to Starscream's shoulder, noticing Ratbat.

Seeing the cassette seemed to break whatever spell the Prime was under and she finally, carefully, deposited Elita into Skywarp's waiting arms before getting up and closing the short distance between her and the tri-colored seekeress, a curious look in her optics.

"I know what you're thinking," Starscream stated bluntly once the Prime had reached her. "How and where I found him is a very long story, Prime."

Optimus once again glanced at Ratbat before looking the seekeress in the optic and saying, "Explain, Starscream. Start with where you found that creature and why he's here. Then, you can tell me what just attacked my mate."

Much to the shock of her cousins', Starscream wasn't the least bit upset with the demanding tone Optimus had taken. Considering the fact that she'd just been attacked by a demon and was lucky enough to frighten it away with their god's assistance, what Optimus wanted to know wasn't that much.

"I found him on the Nemesis," The Seeker began, again. She quickly continued before the Autobot leader had a chance to ask any more questions. "I've lived there like forever now, Prime. I know how to come and go as I please without someone there to open the door for me."

Thundercracker and Skywarp looked at each other, surprised by their cousins'—somewhat arrogant—response before looking at her again. It seemed their beloved Starscream had more secrets than they originally thought.

Starscream told them everything she knew—which, more accurately speaking, was what she deemed appropriate for them to know. She explained how she entered the downed ship, where she found Ratbat, and what she was doing in the abandoned Decepticon craft… And then she revealed the fate of Cybertron and those that were on the planet.

While her cousins didn't believe her when she told them about her…" _gifts_ ", they took the news about their homeworld and people as seriously as Optimus did.

"Everyone's… _dead?"_ Optimus whispered, horrified and unwilling to believe Starscream's words. Especially since the seeker giving her this report was once one of her deadliest enemies. "It can't be— it's not possible! You're wrong, Starscream! Everyone on Cybertron can't be dead! They can't be!"

Optimus' cry did nothing to move the tri-colored seeker's spark. "Why would I lie about this?" She asked, her tone both blunt and cold. "Use your head, _darling._ Why do you think this monster has come here in the first place? It seems quite obvious to me that it ran out of food in its favorite hunting ground and it has eaten everyone in every nearby colony as well. It came here looking for new prey, starting with the Nemesis. Now that it's eaten everyone there, there's only one food source left: everyone on _this_ ship."

Starscream paused and crossed her arms over her cockpit. Her optics bored into Optimus' as she concluded, "We are possibly what's left of our entire race. And now that beast is hunting us to extinction. I think it's safe to assume it's already eaten some of your beloved Autobot comrades, since no one stopped me from leaving the Ark."

Optimus felt her optics grow wider at Starscream's words. Her mouth opened and closed under her mask as she tried to say something— _anything_ —but was unable to. As overwhelmed as she felt, she knew Starscream was telling the truth—as gruesome as it was.

"And you didn't find that the least bit suspicious?" Thundercracker asked, questioning his cousin's judgement.

Starscream nodded and answered, "I did, but I was more concerned about the information I could get from the Nemesis in regards to our devastated world. At the time, I could've cared less if your Security Officer had met her end."

She turned her back on the Prime and her cousins as Ratbat looked at her curiously. _"You haven't felt anything?"_ He beeped in a language only the seekeress could understand.

Starscream considered this before shaking her head again. She hadn't felt anything before the monster attacked, and she was sure Prime hadn't either—at least not until her mate was in danger. But how was that possible? They could feel the monster's presence now, why couldn't they before?

The answer hit her like a ton of scrap metal, causing her to suddenly turn to face the others with a shocked expression on her face. "It's becoming more powerful!" she exclaimed. "Come on, we have to go, _now_! We can feel its presence now, because it wants us to!"

She trembled at the memory of her sire making her cry and scream in pain, or causing her fear and suffering by torturing her little brother. He delighted himself in her suffering.

"It's feeding on our fear," She concluded.

A tense, shocking silence followed her declaration. Everyone's attention went to Elita when the pink femme groaned in pain, struggling slightly in Skywarp's arms but not waking. As if a light had suddenly be turned on in her processor, Optimus returned to reality. "She's right, we need to go to the med-bay as fast as we can."

They left the darkened office, and took the quickest route to the med-bay. However, their unease only continued to grow as they traveled down the eirily silent hallway, the lights flickering as they went. Luckily they came across a few Autobots who stopped to ask what was wrong with Elita before following them to the med-bay.

 _'Strength in numbers.'_ Starscream thought as they continued on their way, their group now slightly larger than when they started off.

"Could you see it?" The seekeress now asked Optimus as they continued to move on cautiously. "Could you see what attacked Elita?"

"No, I couldn't," Optimus answered, her optics constantly searching every shadow or darting in the direction of a suspicious noise. "What I could see was a dark smoke hovering around Elita. When I moved towards it, it hissed at me. The Matrix reacted to the… _darkness_ I felt and forced my chest plates open. The moment it was bared, the demon vanished… I can't really explain what happened."

Optimus was still trying to understand the existence of something she never dreamed a reality. All those old stories about monsters that lurked in the shadows that she and Ultra once told each other before going to berth were now suddenly very real.

" _The infinite and pure light of the Matrix must've banished the creature. However, I'm sure it won't be long before the beast loses its fear of the artifact, and if that happens, it will be able to face Primus himself. Which wouldn't surprise me in the least since it's his creations it's murdering_ ," Ratbat mused to Starscream, who grimaced as he spark dropped down to her fuel tanks.

Optimus, noticing that the cassette seemed to be talking to the seekeress, asked, "What is he saying?"

Silence followed as the flier processed what to say, then took some air to answer:

"The prognosis is not good, Prime," The tri-colored flier answered without meeting the Autobot Commander's gaze, her expression grim. When she did turn to met Prime's gaze, Optimus was reminded of sharp ice as her crimson orbs looked into her blue ones. "He believes that even Primus won't be able to stop it soon."

A spark of fear showed in the Matrix bearer's optics as the new sank in.

This was definitely not good.

**XXX**

* * *

"Starscream," Magnus stated coldly. His spark did not settle when the femme's smirk turned into a grin. "Are you the one causing this?"

She nodded, seeming not to care about the mech's demanding tone. She walked towards him, her steps so light it was as if she floated… A mockery of an angel of death coming towards him…

...and he was unable to move… unable to stop her approach.

"What have you done?" Ultra Magnus asked, trying to keep his voice steady and his unease in check. "Where is everyone? Why isn't anyone answering?!" He attempted to make his voice harsh—Primus even moving his body would be a plus, at least then he could run for his life. However, he failed in both aspects.

The seekeress stopped in front of him, leaving nothing but a foot of space between them as she lay her hand on his broad chest and proceeded to sensually stroke it.

This couldn't be Starscream. It just couldn't be. The femme would never use these kinds of suggestive movements on anyone, let alone _him_ of all mechs… At least while conscious anyway.

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?" Purred the tri-colored seekeress in a voice Magnus had never heard before. He frowned at her question but felt his spark leap into his throat as she continued, "Did you enjoy touching me? _Pleasuring_ me?"

Ultra's grip hastened and his spark pulsed so loud in its chamber his audios rang. The femme only giggled sweetly while her hands roamed lower over his torso. "You know, I really liked it… Your finger inside me felt so… _delicious_ …"

Magnus couldn't hold back his fear any longer. It coursed through his veins with the adrenaline and caused his processor to race. Now he was certain that this was not the Starscream he knew; but that left one question: Who was this demon?

"I was disappointed when you stopped… mmm… I really wished you would've continued instead of going into your washracks to use your hand… My valve still tingles at the idea of you in me… Oooh, can you imagine it? Your thick, long spike piercing me over and over again while I cry out for more." She moaned as the images filled Ultra's processor. This only further confused the mech as his temperature began to rise at the idea of interfacing with the seekeress, but the fear continued to freeze him.

"What… What are you do—" he tried to speak only to be silenced by a pair of soft lips. The kiss was gentle but quick and when she parted from him, she shook her head and placed her index finger over her lips, faking innocence.

"Tell me, wouldn't you have enjoyed having the time of your life as you thrust into me? Going deeper with every stroke as my valve embraces you? After all… I would've _never_ found out…"

Ultra tried to move but it proved an impossible task, no matter how scared he was or how much adrenaline ran through him. He was her prey now.

And what was worse?

She knew. By Primus she knew he touched her that night!

But he couldn't tell if she was angry because he had not continued what he'd started, or because he'd touched her in the first place… He thought, believed she'd been unconscious… but had she been tempting him all along?

"Answer me!" She suddenly roared in naked anger making him jump from his thoughts while revealing a sharp, silver blade…

…A blade that looked oddly familiar.

Magnus' optics widened realizing what it was.

"Ohh… you recognize this?" She touched the blade to his chest before scratching glyphs into the armor with the sharp tip. "Yes, sweetspark, you think so loudly, I could hear you miles away…"

The mech flinched at the claim. How powerful could one become with such cursed abilities?

"The sword of Primus…!" He whispered as she lowered the weapon towards his groin, distracting him from his thoughts and causing her to smirk evilly.

"I think I can come up with a better use for this," She stated, carving more marks, making him itch and feel… strange.

"Let me see it," Purred Starscream, meaning his spike. "Show me!" She roared impatiently when he didn't do as she asked immediately. "Weren't you so eager that night?! What happened? Why so impotent now?!" The femme's optics flashed angrily and her wings rose up right before she mercilessly pierced his crotch with the holy weapon.

Ultra Magnus roared in utter pain as it blossomed from the wound inflicted on him and spread throughout the rest of his body freely. Alarms sounded in his head and energon oozed as Starscream laughed at his misery.

His agony echoed in the hallways, but no one came to his aid.

"Yes, yes… that's good… Give it all to me! This is what happens when you disobey me!" She reached for his neck and then froze, turning with a snarl. "Too bad… I'm not quite ready to face my double yet." She giggled before kissing his cheek in a mockery of a caring lover before vanishing. "I'll see you around," her singing voice echoed in his processor.

When the seekeress was gone, Magnus was able to move again. He fell to the floor and pathetically cried his disgrace while he bled from his damaged… groin.

How had that blade pierced him so easily? It didn't appear that she used colossal strength and even if she had, his armor was created from the hardest substances on Cybertron.

"Brother!" Optimus hurried to her fallen younger sibling and looked at the damages. "What happened!?"

The rest of the group quickly followed after her and gasped at the sight of Magnus' injury. Ultra looked up and felt his optics widen at seeing _her_.

"Y-You… it was…you," He attempted to explain before the pain intensified and he fought to stay conscious.

"It's okay brother. We're going to take you to the med-bay," Prime assured before asking Thundercracker to help her carry him.

Everyone hadn't paid attention to what Ultra said… but Starscream and Ratbat had. Both shivered in disgust at the realization of what the mech's words must mean.

As they continued on their path to the med-bay, the cassette looked at the seekeress and asked, _"Why would it take your shape? Prime didn't say anything about it looking like you when it attacked her and Elita… and it certainly didn't look like you when it killed my creator and everyone else in the Nemesis."_

Starscream shook her head in reply before answering him telepathiticly. _"I know, it's strange… We need to know what else he saw—what else he heard."_

Ratbaot nodded in agreement. Starscream felt a twist in her tanks when she saw that he was now looking at her pityingly. She hated pity.

"Are you okay?"he asked, attempting to sound sympathetic. _"Are you dealing with… all this alright? Not every Cybertronian wakes up with strange powers and isn't affected by them."_

Starscream rolled her optics—she was really getting tired of people asking her if she was alright and how she was was simply _not ok!_

She took her time in answering Ratbat. _"It's not magic, Ratbat—I used basic scientific knowledge, that's all. Don't misinterpret my abilities."_

" _As her royal highness wishes_ ," The cassette shrugged at her words. As they reached the med-bay, he decided that if she wanted to be in denial and lie to herself about how normal she was by thinking she could use telekinesis through science, then who was he to tell her otherwise?

Besides, Starscream had become stressed enough to consider killing him mere moments before—and after surviving that monster, even at the expense of ignoring his family's suffering and death, he valued his life. Besides that, he swore that if the opportunity to kill that creature presented itself, he would take it the first chance he got. And this half insane seekeress was his only opportunity to get his revenge.

Though, he understood why she was like this. She was insane because no one believed her when she saw the monsters or when she said she had powers. Whenever she tried to tell someone, they merely wrote off her claims as impossibilities and everything she was able to see, hear, and feel that was outside of _normal_ was just a part of her imagination. And, if by some stroke of bad luck they _believed_ her, they saw her as nothing more than an evil creature. Because of that, poor Starscream didn't tell anyone about her abilities and tried her best to hide them instead of training and making herself stronger.

However, with him here, Ratbat could help her accept herself and will her to use her power to kill the beast. He would teach her and through her, teach everyone else that while it was a rarity for dimensions to crash into their world, it didn't mean it was an impossibility. Just because they couldn't see it, didn't mean it wasn't real. However, he didn't think that part of the lesson would be too hard—everyone would be able to see this monster's work now. Whether they wanted to believe it or not.

**XXX**

* * *

Med-Bay…

Starscream felt so out of place. It was as if she didn't belong with her own family anymore. Feeling alone and twinges of insanity eating at her processor, she unconsciously hugged Ratbat to her chest. She held himthere as she tried to sort through the turmoil that was her feelings and thoughts—all of which were focused on her current task… An impossible task.

At least she somehow managed to get Skywarp and Thundercracker to go talk with Hook and convinced them to stay with him and his brother. She wanted them to go and stay away until the time came… She wanted to be alone and in silence for once.

Ultra Magnus, also away from the growing crowd, had just been repaired by Ratchet and was ordered to rest until he fully recovered. When asked what had been the problem, the medic explained that Ultra's interface panel had been pierced by something so sharp that it practically sliced his spike in two. If the mech hadn't gotten there as soon as he did, he would've lost it forever.

The usually stoic mech watched Starscream's behavior with the bat cassette. He frowned when she hugged the cassette tighter, and Ratbat responded by returning her embrace.

 _'What are those two up to?'_ he wondered. ' _Aren't they enemies?'_

Ultra sighed and shook his head. There were more important things to worry about right now. Shortly after being repaired, Optimus filled him on what happened on Cybertron and the Nemesis. Ultra was pleasantly surprised to know Starscream took his advice to use her drones to see what was happening on their homeworld.

As he brought himself out of his thoughts, Magnus noticed that the lonely seekeress was now staring at him. Seconds later, Ratbat crawled over her plating to perch on her shoulder as she stood from her seat and made her way towards Magnus.

For the first time since he was a sparkling, Ultra Magnus felt like he was in danger. With every sure, confident step the femme took towards him, he felt as if his safety was being threatened. When she stood before him, everything seemed to move in slow motion as she reached to touch him. He wanted to scream for help, but he couldn't even get a gasp to escape his lips when her hands carefully touched his arms and locked gazes with him.

In the corner of his optic, Magnus could see Ratbat _whispering_ in her audio. Without breaking her intense, hypnotizing optic contact, she nodded.

Starscream held onto him for a few seconds before suddenly releasing and backing away from him, a gasp escaping her vocalizer and an expression of horror decorating her features. She breathed heavily as she took another step back, utter disgust quickly replacing her face as she glared at him in complete disdain.

The blue mech, feeling his spark squirm uncomfortably, tried to reach out to her and ask her what was wrong, but Starscream quickly turned away from him and ran out of the med-bay. Optimus, and the small group of mechs and femmes she'd found and brought with her, were quick to get out of the seekeress' way as she stormed out. Worry written all over her body, Optimus looked at her brother… and did nothing to go after the runaway femme.

That's when Ultra realized that the beast was picking them off one by one, and no one had any idea how to defend themselves against it. They all knew Optimus couldn't keep it from attacking forever if Starscream's claims about the creature's growing strength were true.

Optimus filled him in on everything that Starscream had told them—mostly about the Matrix and why the beast feared it… and that, if exposed to it, it could harm the seekeress just as badly as the creature. That's why it avoided the Prime like a plague and, in turn, Optimus could feel when the dark being used its powers.

But Starscream never said the sacred relic could destroy the monster, nor hold it at bay forever. With every victim it consumed, it grew stronger. Soon enough, it would gain the strength to tolerate the Matrix's power. And when that moment came, no one would be safe.

…Their numbers were decreasing so rapidly that extinction seemed iminent.

**XXX**

* * *

Once she was far enough away from the med-bay, Starscream stopped and panted. When she had touched Ultra Magnus, her original intent was to read his thoughts to see what the monster looked like and what it said to him. What she saw instead caused her whole body to shake in revulsion and rage.

"Disgusting piece of slag," She cursed, rubbing her hand madly against the wall in an attempt to clean the filth from it. "Fragging perv!"

Ratbat observed her from his position on her shoulder, despite the worry he felt, he calmly waited for her to calm down before attempting to speak to her. Once he saw she had, he asked, _"What did you see?"_

Starscream continued growling incoherently, not daring to touch any part of her body.

When Ratbat asked the same question again, she answered, "I should've left him to be eaten. Fragging horny afthole."

At the blank, confused look on Ratbat face, Starscream's rage returned. "He deceived me! He _touched_ me! How dare he?! How _dare_ he?! He did it while I was asleep… He took advantage of me! I _hate_ him!" the seekeress roared, her anger and displeasure echoing in the empty hallways.

Realizing what she meant, Ratbat nodded sadly. _"And here I thought Ultra Magnus was incapable of such an act. He does have quite the reputation for being respectful and fair; one reason even some of the Decepticons respect him…respected him."_ He added the last part sadly, remembering that there was no one left from their factions.

He was brought out of his sadness when he noticed that Starscream had become even more tense than before.

Once again the temperature dropped and the lights flickered…

…It was time.

" _Are you ready_?" The cassette asked. He was pleased when Starscream nodded her confirmation. _"Then let's do this."_

Starscream took a deep, calming breath before frowning in concentration and taking a posture of meditation. Her optics became a darker crimson and a dark hole opened in the ground beneath them. It gently swallowed them up, leaving the Ark's hallways abandoned once again.

There was one thing that intrigued Ratbat now.

This monster was becoming more powerful by the second… just like Starscream.

_"Why?"_

**XXX**

* * *

The Med-Bay…

She looked around, an evil smirk on her face. She swung the silver blade in her right hand lazily as she entered and continued doing so until the Prime took notice of her presence.

That caused her to grin widely.

"Hello," She stated casually. With that single word, everything in the medical wing grew silent. So deep was the silence that some swore they could hear sparks beating against chests. The unease grew, as did the diabolical look on the seekeress' face and she stared at them all at the same time—as impossible as that sounded.

Despite himself, Ultra Magnus felt a shiver run throughout his body. Everyone knew the form the creature had taken, but he recognized the presence he felt in the hallway before being taken here. He used all his willpower to keep himself from shaking harder, the evil he hadn't been able to feel before making itself crystal clear now.

What was worse, this being was the mirror image of Starscream.

"Leave," Optimus demanded bravely, standing between the spectre and her troops and spreading her arms out. "I won't let you pass!"

However, her display only caused the creature to giggle softly in amusement.

Skywarp and Thundercracker stood impossibly still, both petrified by the sight of the artifact they hadn't laid optics on in millennias. The last time they'd seen it, Starscream had used it to lose the last ounce of innocence she possessed.

"What's it doing here in that monster's hands?" Skywarp whispered, unable to stop shaking. When Starscream stopped Nightscream, that blade fell on its perfect tip mere millimeters from his head; so he remembered it perfectly.

"You do not frighten me anymore," The creature chuckled, calmly stepping towards Optimus and pointing her blade at her. "After all, this wonderful trinket has your name on it… _Prime_."

The last word was said with so much venom panic flooded the processors and sparks of everyone present. Moments later, as she casually stepped around a now immobile Prime, they all realized they couldn't move.

She'd paralyzed them!

The Starscream look-a-like laughed at their lost mobility. Now they could do nothing to stop her.

She then sighed before saying, "The last morsels are always the best. Now none of you have to worry about being alone, seeing as you'll be accompanying the others soon enough." Her words confirmed all their worst fears. Everyone—on Cybertron, the Nemesis, and those who were not present in the med-bay—was dead.

The femme smiled cruelly at a frozen Ultra Magnus before reaching for him. "I believe you and I have some unfinished business, love."

She chuckled then leaned against his chest and picked up where she left off—drawing glyphs on his armor with her blade and completing glyphs that she hadn't finished before being interrupted.

While no one could move, they could still speak. Some demanded the seekeress to let Magnus go and to leave him alone. She responded by chanting an unholy language, growing steadily louder as she continued her work.

She killed the other—those that were in the med-bay were the only ones left of their entire species. Optimus needed to know more. "What have you done?" she demanded, though everyone noticed how her voice shook. "Are we—"

"The last of your kind?" The beast interrupted with a wide, psycho smile. "Why yes, you are… I have been in the dark for such a long time, and I was so very hungry. I believe I deserved what I took and will take," she concluded.

Once her glyphs were complete, she lifted the blade away from Magnus and rose it high, prepared to insert it in his chest. She moved to bring it down and for a brief moment, time stood still. Ultra watched the femme in pure terror as the blade came towards his chest. This was it…he was really going to die at the hands of this monster…

The knife suddenly flew from her hand, her fist crashing against Magnus' chest.

With a loud, angry and frustrated growl the Starscream double turned to see who had interrupted her— _again_.

Everyone gasped at the sight of two identical Starscreams, one smirking devilishly while the other glared hatefully at her doppelganger.

"I believe that belongs to me," The monster stated before attempting to use her powers to snatch the blade back. The weapon remained firmly clutched in Starscream's hand and strange, spiked glyphs appeared on her face before spreading to cover her whole body.

"No," Optimus whispered, an ache forming in her spark. "No Starscream, don't! You'll die!" She pleaded with the femme not to carry out her plans before falling to her knees. The Matrix felt as if it were clawing at her spark-chamber, demanding her to do something! _Anything!_

But she had no idea what she could do to help the seekeress.

Starscream didn't stop and continued to let the glyphs take over her being, even as the monster graciously walked toward her. No matter how much power this… _child_ thought she had, she would not fear her.

"You honestly think you can stop me? You think you have the power to do so?! _You_ gave me my power, Starscream. _You_ made me and gave me life. All this time, you've fed me with your anger…your hatred…you fear…and your doubt." When the monster finally reached her look-a-like, she smirked and continued, "You could never fully control me. You thought you could, but in the end, it was _I_ who was controlling _you_. But now, I'm finally free…I don't need you anymore."

As the monster laughed, Starscream growled acidly at her.

Faster than a bolt of lightning, she placed a lavender data-pad over the beast's chest and pierced it when the silver blade… but she didn't reach its spark.

"What's wrong?" Starscream asked icily. "I thought you wanted all those negative feelings I could never escape?"

The creature shrieked, feeling pure agony for the first time in its short existence. Primus' sword, still piercing through the data-pad, fell to the ground.

"Prime!" Starscream screamed.

In that instant, Optimus knew what she had to do. She looked at the seekeress sadly as her chest plates parted, revealing the Matrix.

The ancient relic pierced through every shadow and filled the room with an infinite light. Everyone flinched as both the beast and Starscream howled in pain, the powers of their god rejecting them. The femme felt two frames suddenly cover hers and arms wrapped around her in a tight hug as she continued to wail.

The ordeal lasted only a few seconds…but for Starscream, it felt as if years went by before the light extinguished. She gasped against her beloved cousin's frames, both hugging her for dear life as they felt the life leave her.

When she finally on-lined her optics, the first thing that greeted her was her diary…it was on the floor and it was… _bleeding?_ Her energy dropped dramatically and her spark began to ache painfully, slowly sinking into the agony…she swallowed it all.

For the last time, she looked longingly at her partner in life. Her loyal company and friend…her diary. Sadly she couldn't save Skyfire's family's information before destroying the data-pad… now everything her family had worked so hard for was lost…

Along with her life's work…

"Star?" Skywarp whispered, feeling in steadily growing shivers. "It's okay, Star. You're safe now... you're going to be just fine. We're here... we love you."

"Yes, we love you... so very much," Thundercracker repeated, tears streaming down his and his brother's cheeks and staining their faces. It was done... It was finally over...

Or was it?

Starscream felt her strength abandon her and she knew her time grew short. She had to act now or else become the monster she had just killed.

"I love you too...Despite what I've said, I always have...and always will," Starscream's voice grew softer and softer until it was a barely audible whisper. The two seeker's hugged the cousin tighter never wanting to let her go.

Starscream looked at them sadly...she didn't want to leave them like this...but she had no other choice. Taking a deep breath, she locked optics with her cousins and said, "No matter what happens... I'll always be with you Skywarp, Thundercracker."

She released one final breath and her body began to vanish.

"Star?!" Thundercracker exclaimed in horror, quickly realizing what she was doing. "Starscream, don't! Please, don't do this!"

But it was too late.

In an instant as if feeling they were going to stop her, Starscream was gone, leaving not a trace behind.

The brothers stared at their empty arms in shock, their minds not comprehending what had just happened. However, as the place where Starscream once existed within their sparks became nothing but an empty void, a deep sadness overtook them. Fresh tears poured from their optics and the Autobots looked on with sympathy.

" _Starscream_!"

The End?

...no...not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and please remember my wish for this chapter that was mentioned at the top of it, I really need to read you too to distract me from some things and make me happy again.
> 
> Stay tuned for the Epilogue that will be updated soon… I hope...once my beloved beta sends it to me.
> 
> Always yours,  
> Mew


	35. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you may preffer to remain with the last chapter as....the last chapter of the story, but I found it needed that some ropes needed to be tied up before ending this.
> 
> Comments are always welcome...
> 
> Disclaimer: I owe nothing you may recognize exept this plot that was made...just because.
> 
> Writen by me and betaed by the lovely Cartoon_Dragon thank you so much for all your support 'till the end of this thing xoxo Also, to my former beta Angelcakes19, a real sweetspark, sadly without time to continue with this hobby of betaing xoxo you too.

**Epilogue**

The wind blew against her cooling frame. She was alone. To leave her beloved cousins behind without even saying goodbye…was the hardest decision she'd ever made. But one she had to make.

If she had stayed, if she had tried to say goodbye, they would have tried to make her stay. They would have tried to convince her to drink from their lives and soul, ignoring the consequences that were sure to follow. Starscream was no vampire…she refused to become a life sucker.

Not only was the concept absolutely disgusting to her, but if she ever drank another Cybertronian's life's blood, there would be no turning back. She wouldn't be able to stop herself from killing—not just her cousins—but everyone else around her. She would become the monster she had just defeated and despised.

"Uhhh!" The tired seekeress groaned in pain as she knelt onto the cold snow that was slowly covered her darkening and dead world. "Primus…"

One last gasp left her mouth before her body collapsed onto the snow and she injected herself with the last of her paralyzer. This would prevent her from falling to temptation.

Just before she faced the beast, she and Ratbat teleported to the Nemesis for the last of her medicine, and now…

"Ohhh…" She moaned painfully before her sight began to fade and the storm faltered. Now the stars in the heavens were clear and beautiful, the two moons the only witnesses to her falling.

So…this is how it all ended…

…or so she thought.

Someone was walking towards her…Someone she recognized…

Suddenly she was a child again and everything around her shined as if the whole planet was covered in beautiful, glowing, singing crystals. Remaining on her back, she turned her head to look around and saw the old mech was now above her, smiling kindly.

She raised her arms towards him and he took her into his warm embrace…and embrace she'd missed dearly. Scarlet tears streamed from crimson optics as if undying by the act as the little helm rested against one large shoulder and the larger mech rocked the infant.

" _Grandpapa Skyfall…"_ Starscream whispered as the last remains of her spark faded. _"It makes me immensely happy that my sacrifice has at least allowed me to see you again before disappearing into the winds."_

The Seekerling felt the large mech's smile, just as real as his caresses to the back of her helm.

She hugged him tighter, never wanting to let go, fearing that if she relaxed even one proto-muscle he would disappear. She didn't want that, not when her physical suffering was so great.

" _My sweet spark, you went through quite an adventure. You've earned the right to rest,"_ the old shuttle said, pulling her away from his embrace, an embrace she didn't want to abandon. She clawed at his armor, begging for just a few more seconds of this feeling of care and love she was starved for.

" _Don't I get a hug too?"_ Another voice stated, their tone amused…a voice she thought she'd never hear again. Her spark clenched and she turned around to see…

" _Jetfire!"_ the little sparkling squeaked in a mix of joy and surprise before jumping away from her adoptive grandsire to her big brother's arms and hugged him just as tight.

More tears escaped her optics, cascading down her cheeks as she released painful sobs, holding the bigger mech for dear life, wishing to be able to hug both mechs at the same time. The only mechs—besides her cousins and Skyfire—who truly loved her…

Speaking of Skyfire…

" _I'm sorry,"_ she cried, almost mumbling in his chest. _"I'm so sorry, I couldn't keep it…I had to destroy it…I'm so sorry…"_ The little one was able to finish her apology just before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs.

Once again, a soft caress answered her, followed by a sad, understanding smile. _"I know, little princess. I know you did everything you could…I shouldn't have placed those things in your diary. I had no idea what it really was, not until it was too late."_

A knot formed in her throat at the mention of her diary; but he wasn't finished. _"But what I regret more—what really hurt me as I watched you from above all this time—is that I was selfish. I only thought of myself when I died. I hadn't even given you the opportunity for a hug, or a goodbye…I should have stayed with you, I should have lived and protected you. I should have stayed to love you as you deserved."_

His words only accelerated her spark and she tightened her grip on him as the idea of him leaving now choked her.

" _But now we're all here. Primus allowed us to come for you."_

Starscream didn't fully process the shuttle's words and before her processor had the opportunity to do so, another feminine, melodious voice sounded. One she had almost forgotten.

" _Star-cry…"_ it sang. Starscream looked and there she was—a femme whose face had almost vanished from her memory. And in her arms was a little yellow and orange sparkling beaming at her. _"Hi Star…missed ya,"_ the youngling said. Starscream gasped as Jetfire inched closer to the femme and sparkling so she could hug them too.

" _Mom…Sunstorm…"_ the Seekerling stated in a broken voice as she was warmed in a tight embrace.

" _I think we're all ready to go now,"_ the beautiful femme said, causing her crying daughter to gasp and grasp them tighter, wanting just a little more time with them and wanting more than anything to hug them all at the same time forever…to not be alone and devastated like before.

" _We have come for you, little princess,"_ Jetfire said, feeling her uneasiness and caressing her head again before kissing it softly. Starscream looked up at him as if not understanding his words. He only answered with a smile, then the older shuttle spoke.

" _You, my little angel, have earned a place within the Well. Let us take you there, Primus wishes to speak with you in person…along with another friend of yours that decided to wait for you there."_

Starscream still couldn't understand what he meant, then allowed Skyfall to take her into his arms again before walking along with the others towards a very bright place. She off-lined her optics before noticing the light was not blinding her, but embracing her. She hugged her grandpapa tighter and allowed herself to be taken away…

…In the darkness, her adult body released its final breath before turning into dust…dust that floated and shined as if made of fairy powder, released onto the dark and sterile ground of Cybertron. Once a few specks touched the dead world, a strange reaction occurred—wherever the dust landed, beautiful clusters of shiny, bright crystals grew. Just as they had in Starscream's dream , they covered the entire surface of the planet, and without anything that could harm them, they took magnificent sizes and shapes, all of them filling the once dead world with their light and gentle music…

…now very much alive and beautiful.

...

* * *

…

**Years Later…**

A lone, young, white shuttle mech sat against a big oak tree. He released a deep ventilation before on-lining his big blue optics and looked ahead at the little creatures that played nearby in the forest's clearing.

He smiled when he recognized one sparkling in particular: a little tri-colored seekerling playing with another with brilliant yellow and white armor.

Skyfire was never a mech who believed in supernatural events. In his processor, everything had its causes and effects. However, when his adoptive little sister came to his life, some of those ideas changed. She was something special and he knew it. He saw it the day he'd found her in the garbage…

…and this is how he remembered her:

Happy and innocent.

Even in the science academy with those bullies, she was happy…a completely different being than the Autobots described…or her cousins.

However, now, watching her play with her little cousin made him believe that Primus had not abandoned her as she once claimed; because he'd given her another chance. Another opportunity to have what she deserved…what she needed.

A loving family.

"Sunstorm, that's cheating!" exclaimed a tiny pink femme while chasing her brother who flew away from her, laughing. She wasn't a flier, so following him was out of the equation. "Come back here and face my wrath like a mech!" She stomped her little ped on the ground to make her point.

The mech seekerling only laughed at her and stuck out his glossa while mocking her.

"You will see what I'll do to you once you step on the ground! I'll get your aft!" the pink femmling threatened making her other seekerling cousin giggle and pat and caress the head of a sleepy Ratbat.

Skyfire frowned at that. He wasn't fond of the Decepticon cassette and was sure he had other motives besides "protecting" the daughter of the one who ordered him to be her shadow.

"Novaaaaa!" the pink femmling moaned to her tri-colored cousin, tugging on her wings in an attempt to appeal her to bring down her floating brother.

"Okay! I'll bring him…but you better not destroy him or aunt Elita will be mad," the tri-colored femmling said, passing her Ratbat. "But beat him enough so won't cry to her." In the end she winked at her pink cousin before igniting her thrusters and going after the shiny, floating mech.

Startled, the other seekerling flew away as Nova chased after him.

"Get him, get him!" the pink femmling cheered from the ground, Ratbat in her arms…Whom covered his ears at the high screech of the sparkling holding him.

As the sparklings played, Skyfire couldn't help but notice the irony of the situation.

When he was brought back to life, he was filled with everything—thousands and millions of years in war, his suffering sister, her sacrifice…and the diary.

That little lavender data-pad Starscream always carried with her—the object that knew her suffering, disgrace, and shame better than anyone…It was finally destroyed and, according to Ratbat, it had to be sealed. Much to Skyfire's surprise, it was. The cassette informed that whatever was in there must never be reached again because of the danger it held. Someone's pain was put in evidence and must never be touched again.

However, what surprised Skyfire the most was that Starscream plunged a sword through it, also killing the monster that had stalked them. After that, she was gone. No one knew what truly happened to her or heard from her again…Until now.

Skyfire remembered when Starscream was little, all those millenniums ago, and how she feared to be left alone—particularly in the dark. His family studied her and found nothing out of the ordinary…Except in a tiny part that connected her spark and processor. It was a small part that was usually unused by most Cybertronians. Yet hers was very much developed. They resolved to never leave her alone and kept her busy so her "hallucinations" would leave her alone.

As Starscream's doppelganger—Nova—chased her cousin, Sunstorm, Skyfire saw a shadow watching them play. Calibrating his optics to better see the intruder, he frowned. He didn't know the mech's intentions for the femme seekerling, but he had his suspicions.

Ultra Magnus watched them play for several minutes before Ratbat turned his head toward him and hissed dangerously at him.

A minute hadn't passed before a white, doorwinged femme came hurrying out and called her daughter's name. "Nova!"

The tri-colored femmling stopped immediately and looked down to see who'd called her.

"Mom," she whined, not wanting the game to end. However, she flew into the femme's waiting arms.

"It's time to do your homework and continue your studies," she stated firmly once she had her sparkling in her arms. "Ratbat, let's go."

A second later the bat cassette attached himself to Prowl's shoulder before the femme took her sparkling away. She shot a nasty glare towards the, poorly, hidden Ultra Magnus as her daughter waved goodbye to her cousins and friends.

Sunstorm came down with his wings lowered and his sister came to stand next to him, the two watching as the tri-colored seekerling was taken away. The game was over.

Skyfire contemplated how Nova rested her head against her mother's shoulder as she walked away. Prowl, without a doubt, wanted her sparkling as far away from Ultra Magnus as she could possibly get her and Ratbat was obviously there to warn her if he ever approached…Which he did, much to the surprise of everyone else.

Another thing that surprised Skyfire was who little Nova's creators were. Before Starscream was gone and after the war ended, the Prime ordered everyone to procreate. After the seekeress disappeared, Magnus was free and single; so Prowl, now a femme, tried with him only to be rejected horribly by the blue and white mech.

Months later, however, it was revealed that she and Thundercracker were together and had conceived a sparkling. It was a surprise for everyone, especially since she moved on from Magnus so fast. Skyfire believed it was Thundercracker's doing. He became her pillar in her world where her spark was broken for the last time.

But the blue seeker was not the only one who'd won a mate. His brother, Skywarp was also bonded…He actually had _two_ mates. Prime and Elita. The two femmes were already bonded, however, if they wished to conceive a sparkling, they needed a mech…And Skywarp was their first choice to help them.

Who would've guessed that he would be such a good father?

He was the co-creator of Sunstorm and his half sister, Electra, the pink femmling.

When Ultra Magnus moved from his spot to return to the base, Skyfire once again thought about Starscream and, of course, Ratbat. He believed that he'd heard that name before back on Cybertron, but when he tried to access the correct file, it evaded his conscious processor. He would think about it later, his major concern was Nova's happiness.

He knew, more than what he said to the others, that Starscream knew what she did. She knew who she was, what she was, and what that _thing_ that attacked them was.

She told him about her nightmares, her fears, her hallucinations…and her diary.

Starscream was an open book to Skyfire. He knew her like no one else ever would, and knew what happened that night, and in her life. That was why he'd never tried to reclaim her diary to fix it, no matter what invaluable collection of knowledge was inside it…It was still, no matter what, the object that worked to ease her tension, to absorb her angst, to be the rope that dried her tears, and the roof that shielded her from the mockery from others because of her _irrational_ fears.

He also knew what that _monster_ was…

Her shadow self…Her own hatred that gained strength as she almost gave up the first time she believed her cousins were dead…It was always there, whispering in her ear, trying to lure her into using more and more of her "powers."

Starscream refused to give into the temptation of using them. The only thing she ever wanted was her family safe, she saw no need to use those cursed powers. The thought that her spark was being consumed each time she used them, and in a certain degree she was, helped her stray from temptation. However, the fact that her powers were used, even just the slightest bit, added to her negative feelings, fueled and fed another creatures, very much alive in the darkness…

…the same creature she had killed once before, the same species as her sire's hatred. The difference between the two was that Starscream was facing a more formidable opponent—herself. Her own hatred towards everything she considered a disgrace.

With time, it became stronger. When she was lost, unconscious in the Ark during her attempted suicide, the beast released itself from its prison for the first time. It ran free, killing and feeding off everyone it came across. It was the shadow in her spark; Starscream fed it with all her anger and if she dared to feed off another Cybertronian's life force then it would've completely taken her over. That was why Starscream's spark was growing weaker by the year. The power was the spark, within it.

That was also the reason why she never investigated what happened in Vos or Praxus—the shadow knew. It hypnotized her, lured her into not seeking answers, just revenge on the wrong enemies…It knew what happened there and who made it. That's why it attacked Megatron and Soundwave in such a brutal way, being a slave to its lower instincts…then it grew hungry. Having no time to lose, it attacked Cybertron and every planet it could find a Cybertronian.

As Starscream slept…as she tried to die, it was free. If she died, then the shadow would've finally been free without ties and without a prison to return to, should she awaken…It would've been free to feed itself and kill without a limit of time.

In the end, her own hatred was killing her, having already made her ill and weak. Her hatred had been her worst enemy. Starscream herself, had been her worst enemy. No one knew her better than herself.

Skywarp appeared and knelt with his arms spread, his sparklings responding immediately and ran to his embrace, squealing in delight as they were tickled by their sire.

Skyfire smiled and, not for the first time, looked to the heavens and said, "You're home now Starscream, and you're loved…you can rest in peace as we look after you. I love you, my little sister."

And with one last deep breath, he also decided to enter the Ark. He was, after all, one of Nova's teachers. He smiled thinking of her little, sponge-like processor, absolutely hungry for knowledge.

Prowl couldn't be more proud of her creation…

…even if she did look like an exact replica of Starscream…

A mother is a mother, and Prowl loved her daughter and will defend her with her life and more, just as her sire would.

Skyfire pitied any mech that dared to cause Nova any harm…he may not survive to the next day.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end...  
> ...at last.
> 
> Remember, comments are always welcome just as kuddos, thank you for reading; any questions you have, just ask... like, no, Ultra Magnus is not a pedo here, there's another reason why he's stalking that sparkling; the fallen Starscream was a menace, who said this one is not like her predecesor?  
> That is what's in his mind.
> 
> Just needed to put that in clear, and now this thing is officialy over.  
> xoxo


End file.
